ASP Discontinued
by AlphaComet
Summary: In the land of Equestria, it is widely believed that there is a certain limit to a unicorns magic. However, when Twilight Sparkle discovers an ancient spell book that seemingly speaks to her, she discovers a long forgotten second path of magic.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: As if it were alive.**

For nearly a century, something had been calling out, broadcasting its voice over the land of Equestria and further still. But few unicorns born into this world are able to hear its voice. So it had traveled. In the hands of antique merchants, collectors, historians and over time it had eventually come to be part of a dragons considerable hoard. Then, as the dragon traveled the world, it came to rest in a mountain that overlooked an Equestrian town known as Ponyville.

As luck, or fate, would have it, there was one particularly gifted unicorn residing in Ponyville. One that, for the past month, had been hearing the voice. And as the voice slowly became aware that it could be heard, it grew louder, beckoning for her to come seek it out, rescue it from its dark, uninhabited resting place. She tried to ignore it, but it soon became impossible to put to the back of her mind. It began to have a negative effect her life, her friends were commenting on how distant she was being, her studies just weren't happening. Instead she would just stare at whatever book she had open for an hour or two and then close it, hoping she would be able to do something the next day.

To make matters all the more irritating, the language the voice spoke in was foreign to her. While she thought she may know what language it was, that did not change the fact that she could not understand a word of it.

When she woke up this morning, it was no different.

_ 'Adsum.'_  
>Twilight's eyes snapped open and she shot up, and then, with a frustrated grunt, fell back down again. <em>Why won't it leave me alone!<em>

_ 'Venite ad me invenient me.'  
><em>"I CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU!" Twilight screamed and rolled off of her bed. _...I'm yelling at my own imagination... I must be losing my mind._  
>Her scream had inadvertently caused her assistant, Spike, to jump out of bed and frantically glance to and fro. "Wha- Twilight, what is it? are you okay!"<p>

She groaned. "I'm fine, Spike. I've just been having a hard time getting a good nights sleep for a while now."

Morning routine went about as usual. Bed made, breakfast eaten, coffee inhaled. Soon she was ready to go about her daily comings and goings. With a visit to the market, an order form for the latest set of encyclopedias and lunch with friends on the agenda.

"Oh deary me, Twilight. You look dreadful." The bags under Twilight's eyes were easily noticed by Rarity. "Are you having trouble sleeping?"

With her obligations for the day having been completely sorted, Twilight had found herself seated at a park bench with five of her friends. She had been able to keep up as act until three of them had to leave with things to do. two of her friends; Applejack and Rarity, lingered. Both weren't the least bit ignorant to her sleep deprived condition.

For a moment Twilight considered insisting all was fine. But she quite obviously was not, and it would be best for her to be truthful. "Actually, yes.. For almost a week now." She had to prop a hoof under her chin to stop her face from greeting the table. "I have been hearing this voice, inside my head. It wakes me up every hour and I can't for the life of me figure out what it is."

"Hearin' voices? Ain't a good thing so far as I know, Twi." Applejack chimed in, looking worriedly onto Twilight from across the table. "What are they sayin'?"

Giving up on keeping her head upright, she removed the hoof under her chin and face-planted the wood. "Like I said, I can't figure it out. It's in a completely different language. I sent a letter to Celestia on the second day, but she couldn't figure out what would be leaving foreign voices in my head either. If it were in a language I could understand, it would be easier to figure out what was wrong with me." Tiredly, she sighed. "Perhaps it is all in my imagination."

_ 'falsum'_

_ Leave me alone! _Twilight softly headbutt the table, desperately hoping it would somehow help.  
>"You really are starting to worry me, Twilight." Rarity said. She slid a hoof underneath Twilight's forehead, preventing any possible harm. "You must have missed something, if even Celestia herself couldn't help."<p>

_ 'Venite ad me'  
><em>Twilight said "Yeah, maybe." And forced a smile for Rarity and Applejack.

If Celestia couldn't help, it must be her imagination. It was all in her head, so she would have to fight it with her mind.

Unfortunately, passing another two days without any hint of the voice receding put her off.

Eventually, she could not act as if the voice was of her own imagination anymore. She had to at least attempt to locate the source of the phantom whispers that were now starting to block out everything else around her. She had to go find it before this incessant voice drove her up the wall, so to speak.

She picked a few items out and loaded them into a hot air balloon, and called for her assistant to follow.

Along with the illegible lines, there had also been an almost physical force pulling her towards the ever present whispers. She had some idea of where she would have to go to find the source of the voice for some time now, but truth be told she was hoping she could just ignore it, wait it out until eventually it went away. That was not the case.

Twilight had spent all of half an hour in the suspended basket, following the voice. It had led her in a familiar direction, soon she had arrived at the top of a mountain in front of a large, cold and very dark cave. With her young dragon companion at her side.

Twilight had been here once before. When it had been occupied by a full grown dragon that had intended on spending its one hundred year hibernation here, and along with her friends, she had to convince it to move somewhere else lest the smoke it huffed out while it slept blanketed Equestria in total darkness.

"I don't see why you needed to bring all these," The baby dragon strained as he pulled behind himself a cart, stacked high with books. "or why we're even here to begin with."

Twilight said nothing, instead she focused on the voice, and though she was reluctant to once again set a hoof inside of the cave.

"Twilight? Hey, answer me already!"

She blinked twice and glanced over to him. "Huh? Oh.. Sorry Spike, I'm just a little distracted... right.." Twilight never finished the sentence, she was far too distracted by the vast mountains of gold and jewelery that seemingly bring light to the pitch black cave on naught but their own mere existence.  
>Sure, she had seen it before. But the last time she was here, she was far to preoccupied with the dragon to fully appreciate the considerable quantity of valuables in his hoard. Or of the very cave for that matter. Finding something that could very well be as small as one of the coins that made up one of the numerous grand piles could prove near impossible.<p>

"Oh wow!" Spike eyed the gemstones, salivating as he hungrily sized them up in his mind. "Twilight, do you mind if I-"  
>"No. Absolutely not. When we leave, not one gem will be out of place, okay Spike?" Twilight gave him a stare that seemed to shout 'Don't you dare'.<p>

With a sigh, Spike dropped a gem that he had picked out, drooped is shoulders and begrudgingly followed after his purple companion, dragging the cart of books. "Why exactly ARE we here, Twilight?" Spike, unable to tame his curiosity, continued to set his gaze on as many gemstones as he could see.

"I'm not quite sure yet, Spike. But I feel like I'm getting close." Twilight, poked and prodded through the treasures. Not a single piece of gold or jewelry seemed to catch her eye, not even in the slightest. Nothing at all warranted her interest at all. That is, until she heard it again.  
><em>'Adsum'<em>

A whisper. Difficult to interpret exactly where, but she was certain it came from within the cave. Twilight was definitely on the right track. From pile to pile, Twilight waded through the treasures is pursuit of the voice. It was slight, but she could feel it when she grew closer. _It's so close. I just wish I knew what I was looking for..._

While she fiddled with two impressive looking amulets, Twilight felt another, stronger pull from the invisible force. One of the mountains of gold and glistening jewels nearby held what she was looking for, and it desperately wanted her to find it.

Twilight dug through the mound and with her magic she withdrew from within the heap and held aloft, three books. Three _incredibly _old looking books.  
><em>'arctissima'<em>

"One of these, it _has _to be one of these." Twilight set the books down and opened each, hoping something inside the pages may clue her in on which one had been calling to her. She did not need to look for very long.  
>While two of the books, though old, were perfectly legible, written in the language that ponies use in this day and age and contained old nursery rhymes and stories for children. One of them was written in the language that Twilight was certain she had been hearing for the last week, but she could not for the life of her translate without the right information. Information that she should have back at the library. For now though, a cursory inspection would have to do.<p>

_ First few pages make up the index, _She turned to what was apparently the first chapter _Two paragraphs written out as one would write a descriptive or informative section... These look like instructions, _Twilight turned the page, and her eyes, which were half shut, flew completely open. _Illustrations that show two unicorns putting the information into practical use, by Celestia!_ She jumped to her hooves and finished the sentence aloud. "This is a spell book!"

Spike wasn't at all impressed with their find"And what makes it any different from all the other spell books you have back home?" he asked.

"This isn't just any old spell book, Spike." She practically shoved the book into his face "Look at how old it is!"

"...You have plenty of _old_ spell books back home too, Twilight." He pushed the book out of his face, wearing a very bored expression laced with mild irritation.

She huffed. "That's not what I meant, look at the language it's written in."

"Okay, fine." Spike attempted to read the text. It may as well have been written in hieroglyphs. "I give up. What's so special about it?"

"It's a dead language, that's what's so special about it. Nopony uses it anymore. There could be age old magic spells in here, or secrets, or forgotten methods of shaping, weaving and casting spells!"

"Or it could be a really old first edition of 'My little spell caster'. And be all about how to make seeds grow, or small things float." Spike stepped around her and looked at the other two books that had been left open. "These books look just as old as that one does, and I can read them."

"Obviously this book has been well looked after.." She shut the book and held it aloft beside her "We need to get back to the library so I can properly translate this."

"Why do you get to take something and not me?"

Twilight lifted the pile of books out of the cart and set them down where she had found the spell book. "I'm not taking it, I'm trading for it." She had filled the cart with all of the extra copies of books that she had, knowing that if whatever she was looking for was in here, she could not in good conscience just take it without leaving something else in its place. She put the spell book in the cart and with Spike in tow, she made her way back out to the hot air balloon.

On her arriving back home, Twilight had wasted not even a second gathering together all of the things needed to translate the book.

"This is amazing!" Twilight had three things resting on the table in front of her. The spell book, a book on the dead language the spell book was written in, and a piece of paper that she had been using to write down the words she had managed to translate. Piles of scrunched and discarded pieces of paper littered the floor in her immediate area.

"What's it say?" Spike leaned over her shoulder, wondering what the fuss was all about.

"I'm not sure yet, I'm having a hard time translating this." She put a line through the last word she had written, and made another attempt at the translation.

Spike was perplexed. "You're excited because it's hard?"

She shook her head. "No, because this language is fascinating. In our language we only have three cases; Subjective, objective and possessive. This has six prominent cases; Nominative, Vocative,

Accusative, Genitive, Dative and Ablative. It's quite complex."

"...What?" Spike said.

"Just... It has many different ways of using a word, and each of these ways could change the context of the word entirely." She attempted to explain, though Spike was still young and had much to learn about his own language, let alone a dead one.

He slowly nodded. "Right.. Well let me know if you need anything." he said. He then made for the door, deciding he would find life a little less confusing away from home for the moment. Perhaps Rarity would like assistance with something.

With Spike no longer a distraction, Twilight was free to return to translating the first line of the first page. It was daunting how many alien words filled the page. She scrolled across the writings, wondering how she would manage this. A head on approach seemed as good as any.

_ I'm pretty sure that says 'secrata', meaning secret... 'Revelare'... 'Revelare secrata', reveal secret maybe? _She added these two words to the sentence fragment she had already translated. _'Ego, Revelare secrata, fuerunt duo'... It is still incomplete but I think I'm getting a basic idea.  
><em>Returning her attention to the spell book, she picked the next word to translate. And then the next, and then the next. Eventually, she had a complete sentence. _"'Ego tantum me revelare secrata electi fuerunt duo'. Which I am fairly certain reads; 'I will only reveal my secrets to two that have been chosen'..._

That made little sense at all.

"It is written as if the book were a living entity... And why would it need two ponies?" She asked aloud to herself. Curious, she pushed aside everything else and brought the spell book forward. Twilight turned past the page that had the illustration of the two unicorns, there were more illustrations that she guessed must continue on from the first. But after that, the book was completely blank.

"Impossible!" She flicked over another page, nothing. She used her magic to speed through the rest of the pages, nothing at all. Just aged paper with not even a blot of ink to add any contrast to any of them.  
><em>I will only reveal my secrets to two that have been chosen...<em>

Twilight turned back to the pages that weren't empty. There was no way to be certain, but it would seem that this first spell would unlock the contents of the book. But to do it, you need two unicorns... _But not just any two unicorns... Chosen unicorns... _How could she tell if a unicorn had been chosen? Unless...

_ This book called to me, and as far as I can tell, only me. If that means I'm 'chosen', then that would mean I'll need to find another unicorn that can hear the book... 'hear the book'? That sounds ridiculous._

Many problems came out of this. For one, the unicorns Twilight knows personally have all shown no signs that they have been distracted by something like she had. And as for the ones she didn't know, well she could hardly gallop around town shoving the book in their faces asking then if they could hear it, she'd quickly find herself in a padded cell and constricting white jacket.

All that could be done for the moment, was to translate the steps needed to be taken to perform the unlocking spell. She would need more ink and paper.

Two days after Twilight had found and translated (to the best of her ability) the spell book, she had stepped back into her normal routine. Conversation with her friends was back to normal, now that she was no longer distant and distracted. She was able to return to her studies without them ending with zero results. And the voice no longer bothered her. It was still present, but it no longer called to her, it just remained in the back of her mind, as if the only reason it was there at all was to make sure Twilight did not forget that it existed.

It was quite irritating, however, that she was unable to do anything else with the book by herself. Twilight had fully translated the opening spell, but despite her efforts, she could not perform it solo. Would she have believed she could enlist the aid of any other unicorn, she would have done so by now. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The book clearly stated (if she had translated it correctly) that only two 'chosen' unicorns can perform the spell to reveal the rest of the book.

Twilight had decided to stay in this afternoon, and catch up on the study that she had missed for the few days before she had been able to put a stop to the voices, and the two days she had spent checking and rechecking her translations. A quarter of the way into a book on magical history, which she had meant to have finished over four days ago, she was pulled from her immersion by a knock at the door

_Probably Pinkie Pie telling me about the party she's throwing this weekend... again.  
><em>With a small sigh, she stood, marked her place in the book, and trot over to the door. Fully expecting it to be one of her friends, she had not really been paying attention to which one it was when she had pulled open the door. When her guest had let out a short, shocked gasp followed with a soft but easily audible 'You', Twilight, whom had been paying scant attention to the azure mare standing on her doorstep, could hardly believe her ears when she eventually processed the familiar voice. Her undivided attention had been won.  
>"...Trixie? What on earth are you doing here?"<p>

–

End of Chapter 1.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Trixie.**

_'Venite ad me invenient me.'_

A small distance out of Ponyville, in the room of an inn run by a generous elderly couple, Trixie awoke. _"Dammit!" _She mentally cursed, while stretching herself out. _"Every hour, like clockwork."_

Begrudgingly, Trixie hoisted herself out of bed and groggily made her way downstairs to help with the breakfast shift.

Ever since the events in Ponyville involving two morons, an Ursa minor and a purple unicorn named Twilight. Trixie had been living in an inn situated about a half hour canter outside of the center of town due to the fact that her home and all of her possessions were destroyed.It was by pure chance that she had decided to hide herself away in here, and sheer luck that the owners were kind enough to feed her and allow her to stay, knowing full well that she had little money, and few unbroken possessions that were worth anything substantial. Two weeks after, she had put herself to work, cooking food, cleaning rooms, tending to the guests or even performing low key magic shows to entertain them. Though she could very well have left the morning after, in truth, she had nowhere else to go. Especially now that she had no caravan to sleep in while on the road, and she had no desire to rough it.

There were few ponies here this time of year, it was coming close to the return of winter and there were fewer and fewer travelers passing through. None the less, there were still a few guests, and some regulars that enjoyed coming in for breakfast quite often. There will be plenty of work to do. The wife and co-owner of the inn spotted Trixie descending the stairs and waved her over.

"Trixie, I could use some help in the kitchen." She asked her, politely.

"Coming, Violet." Trixie retrieved an apron from the back room and trot into the kitchen. Violet was cooking this morning, which meant that Foxtrot, the owner of the inn and husband to Violet, would be taking orders and showing possible guests to their rooms and Trixie would be in charge of cleaning up. They would rotate jobs each shift. During lunch, Trixie would be dealing with guests and patrons, Foxtrot would be cooking, and Violet would be cleaning.

On the way into the kitchen, Trixie passed Foxtrot as he was showing his medals off.

He and his wife are quite old, Foxtrot, whom had a coat of dark blue, and a well kept mane that had now turned grey, had been an earth pony general during the war with the gryphon's over forty years ago, and during, he had accrued a large number of medals. He enjoyed putting five of them on in the morning and proudly drawing as much attention to them as he could. Trixie thought it was hilarious, he was quite the character alright, but very kind to her so long as she didn't slack off when she was meant to be working.

Violet was also a very interesting pony. She had been a dancer in her younger days, and though she no longer had the agility, stamina of flexibility she had in her younger years, she still liked to slow trot out by the jukebox every so often. With a coat that matched her name and a mane that still retained some of it's original red colouring, though now faded to a pink, streaked with a little grey. Violet only looked half her age.

"Good morning, Trixie." Violet politely greeted her as she groggily made her way over to the almost empty sink.

"I suppose it is.." Trixie halfheartedly replied, interrupting herself with a yawn.

"Still having trouble sleeping, dear?"

She nodded. "Every hour, the same voice. For over a week now, I think. Can't be too sure, the days are running together for me." She explained as she scrubbed the dishes. "I just wish I could understand what in the heck it's saying." Another yawn rose up and out.

Violet looked concerned, she always did when Trixie looked this way. Maternal instincts she guessed, Violet likely has a child her age. "You've been cooped up in here for weeks. Maybe you need a reprieve."

Trixie gave her an inquisitive sideways glance.

"We're in the slow season now, after you finish with those dishes, perhaps you should go into town."

The plate that Trixie had been holding aloft with magic had almost been dropped to the floor, luckily she managed to catch it before it did. "T-Town? I don't think that's such a good idea.."

"Nonsense," Violet gave her a reassuring smile "I doubt anypony there would recognize you after all this time, and even if they do, they can't be at all mad, it's not like you actually did any damage yourself. In fact, the only damage done, was to your caravan."

She had told Violet the story, and they have discussed it a few times over her stay here. There was little the kind old pony didn't know about the event in question. Violet even knew of her boasts and nasty tendencies, though it took almost two weeks for Trixie to own up to that, only telling the part of the story that had the two colts bringing an Ursa Minor to town and how it subsequently destroyed her caravan. But that story was obviously incomplete, and didn't explain why she was afraid to return to Ponyville, so the rest of the story was revealed. How she did not wish to come face to face with the ponies she shamed for the amusement of others and admittedly herself.

"But what about those I publicly humiliated?"

"You said yourself, one of them came to your aid?"

"For Ponyville, not for me.." Twilight Sparkle was the one pony she was most intent on never seeing again, if she could help it. There were mixed feelings there, for one, Twilight had indeed saved her life, but she had also had a hoof in revealing how pathetic a magician she really was. And that burned her up inside. It isn't Twilight's fault she is such a poor spell caster, but having run out of options in her life, she felt she had to be angry at someone, and Twilight was a prime example of somepony she wished she could be.

"I can't see her again. I can't bear being in the presence of someone so obviously superior to me!" Trixie found herself close to tears, this subject always did. "I try so very hard.. I studied long nights, read so many books and practiced day and night, but nothing I did improved me at all!" Finished with the dishes, Trixie tossed the cloth at the wall behind the sink, and dropped to a seated position. "And yet there she was, preventing a creature so much larger than her from rampaging through town.. She made it seem so easy. But why can't I do it?"

Trixie felt a paper towel pressing itself under her eyes, now letting tears flow freely. Violet say next to her, and offered Trixie her shoulder. "We all have something we're good at, Trixie. Look at your cutie mark, you must be very good at something, or it wouldn't be there."

True, though she was far from a powerful sorcerer, she was unrivaled in confidence and showmanship when it came to entertaining, and she had managed to make what little magical talent she had, look so impressive. _"Ponies used to love my performances.. when did it all fall apart"_

"I give to you two options, You can either take the day off, and visit Ponyville. Or, I can give you a job that involves fetching me one item from every store in Ponyville." Violet smiled. "Your choice."

"_This is utterly stupid!"_

Trixie dived from behind one cart to another, trying to avoid any kind of visual contact propiuswith any other pony. _"Not only am I in the the town that ruined my reputation, I'm following a voice in my head that just so happens to be in said town."_

Despite her internal argument with herself, she did not turn tail and run.

"_It feels so close.."_

_'Veni propius.'_

Disregarding the cautious attitude she had taken up until now, Trixie found herself standing directly in the middle of a somewhat busy street, structures on both sides. If any ponies were looking at her, she paid no notice.  
><em>"I am close."<em>

It was in one of these buildings.. But which one? The two in front of her seemed as good a place as any to start.

_'CONVERSO'_

Or not.. The voice was quite insistent on letting her know it was behind her. That narrowed it down. There was only one building behind her, build into a large tree. Though it's hard to tell from outside, a glance through one of the windows showed bookcases, meaning it could be a library.

"_I'm being spoken to by a foreign librarian..? Brilliant.." _

Trixie slowly trot up to the door.

Knock

Knock

Knock

She pulled back her hoof and waited patiently for an answer. The door opened and Trixie's breath stopped dead in her throat.

"You.." She half whispered. Before her stood the one pony she had hoped she wouldn't have to see, ever again for the rest of her life.

The purple pony looked stunned to see Trixie standing before her. "

..Trixie? What on earth are you doing here?"

Trixie said nothing. She just looked onto Twilight with mixed emotions, her stare filled with anger and awe. She wanted to run away, but she was frozen. She barely managed to start breathing again.

"Um.. Trixie?" Twilight waved a hoof in front of Trixie's face. "You still with me?"

She blinked.

_'Loquere!"_

"Twilight.." Trixie paused for a few moments, then cleared her throat "Have you been putting voices into my head!" She asked, with confidence slowly returning.

Twilight looked utterly perplexed. "Voices? What in Celestia's name are you talking abou-" And then it clicked "You can hear it too!" Twilight grabbed Trixie by the hoof and pulled her inside. "Come see the book!"

"Wha- Hey! Unhoof me this instant!" Trixie fought against Twilight. "Let me go I said!"

_'Salutem'_

She stopped struggling and turned her attention to the large book that sat atop a table to the side of the room.

"..That's it, isn't it." It was less a question and more of a statement. She knew this was the source of the voices that consistently interrupted her sleep.

Twilight flipped the book open. "It's a spell book of some kind. But until now I've had no way of unlocking it."

"Until now?"

"Look." Twilight pulled out her notes. "This book is something different, aside from one spell, all written in a dead language, the entire book is blank."

"A blank book?" Trixie looked incredulous "All of this for a blank book!"

"Calm down and listen, the one spell in the book is an unlocking spell. It reveals the rest of the book." Twilight explained as she laid her notes out.

Trixie huffed. "Then why haven't you done that yet?"

"Because," Twilight jabbed the page with the illustration of two unicorns performing the spell. "I need a partner." She stared hopefully at Trixie.

"And?" Trixie knew what Twilight was thinking, and she didn't like it. "You must have friends who can help you with that."

"Not exactly." She shook her head "You have to be able to hear the book, to use it." she stood the book up and reviewed her notes once more.

"Hear the book? You realize how crazy that sounds.."

"But it isn't! You could hear it too, you said it yourself."

True. But there was no way she was helping Twilight, with anything. Ever. "Be that as it may, I'm not-"

Twilight gave Trixie a pleading look. "Just this once. You're the only other pony I know that is able to hear the book."

It was obvious she needed her help.. _"..She needs MY help?" _This was something new. Nopony had ever needed Trixie's help with anything before. More than that, it was Twilight! Trixie smirked.

"Well if you're that desperate for my help, well I suppose I can't deny."

"Oh thank you!" Twilight jumped for joy and pointed Trixie toward her notes. "Give these a read, and tell me when you're ready."

And that's chapter 2.

Just a note, I currently lack a beta reader. So each chapter has to be edited by myself, and that's not as efficient as having a second opinion. So there is bound to be some mistakes, both spelling and grammatical. So you'll have to forgive me for any minor discrepancies.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The pact.**

"Ready?"

"Yes, yes. Let's just get this over and done with, already."

Twilight cleared the notes from the table, and stood the book on a stand.

The spell was simple enough, with only three simple steps.

"Very well then.. Step one; Form a connection with the book via magic." Twilight quoted her notes.

Twin trails of magical aura, one purple, the other azure, streamed from the two mares to the book. The two combined formed a swirling gradient.

"Step two; Send short, controlled energy pulses through the connection. Try to do so in sync."

A simple enough concept, but it took a few second for the two to sync up properly. Once they did, the sound of pulsing energy grew.

"Step three.." Twilight hesitated. Trixie had already expressed her distaste for this part of the spell. "Complete the circuit through physical contact with your partner."

During a quick practice run through, she had managed to convince Trixie to perform this step with only the most minimal of contact through the sides of their front hooves.

"_Ugh.. Somehow I think it would feel less awkward if I had just held hooves with her for this part." _Trixie cringed internally as she slid her hoof over to Twilight's to form the complete circuit. This tentative approach made things so much work in Trixie's eyes. _"Whatever, it'll be over soon."_

Twilight sighed as they completed the third step with seemingly no hassle. "Now we just need to keep this up, and wait for the book to decide if we're worthy or not."

She had read it, but Trixie still didn't understand that part. "The book makes decisions.. I think I would have preferred the foreign librarian."

Twilight gave her a questioning stare "What?"

Trixie shook her head "Never mind."

Ten seconds passed, nothing. And another ten, then another thirty, still nothing.

Three minutes passed and nothing happened.

"Well this is a monumental waste of time." Trixie huffed.

"Don't give up just yet, we must be doing something wrong." Twilight insisted. "Try boosting the amount of energy we're pumping into it."

Nearly doubling the output of magical energy did absolutely nothing, other than bring forth a more noticeable bout of fatigue to the two.

"Not. Working." Trixie hissed through gritted teeth. It was obvious she was struggling to keep pace. Twilight, on the other hoof, was barely tired at all.

"If the power isn't the problem, the issue must be with the physical contact," She wiggled her hoof "this isn't enough."

Trixie slid her hoof back and scrunched her face. This earned a roll of the eyes from Twilight. "We're both mature ponies here, just give me your hoof and we can get this over and done with."

Though the sour expression remained plastered over her face, Trixie pushed her hoof toward the purple mare and focused her eyes solely on the book. Twilight took Trixie's hoof in her own, and stared hopefully at the blank pages.

A not so subtle shift in the pattern of the colour gradient that had formed over the book signaled they were doing the right thing. Rather than a pulsing mix, it was now swirling into the center as the book seemingly absorbed the magic.

Suddenly, Trixie and Twilight's magic is ceased, but not by themselves. A dull thumping sound creeps through the air, and slowly grows louder.

_Thump-thump._

_Thump-thump._

"What in Celest-" Trixie started, only to be interrupted by a blinding sapphire light, shooting forth from the book, while the thumping grew louder still.

"Is.. Is that a heartbeat!" Twilight asked, voice risen higher than normal to be heard over the thump-thumping.

"Why are you asking me?" Trixie replied. She was squinting, trying to catch a glimpse of the book dead center of the radiant light that felt as if it was burning deep into her retinas, with no luck as she quickly looked away, body tensed and eyes held tightly shut.

The thumping died down, the lights retreated and the book flipped shut. A residual glow emanated from the pages, and it radiated an abnormal amount of heat.

Trixie, however, was unaware of this, as her eyes were still tightly clamped.

"Trixie?"

She opened one eye. "Oh good, I can see." She opened them both, fully. "So, what happened then?"

"Let go and I'll find out." Twilight replied, stifling a giggle. As it turned out, Trixie was yet to relinquish Twilight's hoof. She was quick to do so. Not bothering to wait for Twilight to comment on the situation, she pointed her hoof toward the book, and looked expectantly at Twilight. "Well? I haven't got all day, open it up."

With a nod, and a badly concealed smirk, Twilight obliged. She trot over to the book and flipped open the cover. Not two pages in, something is already made abundantly obvious. The book was no longer in the language it had once been in. Now all of its words were perfectly legible. "I can read it!" Twilight exclaimed.

This caught Trixie's attention, she hurried over to Twilight and the book, wanting to see for herself. "How is that even possible?"

Flipping through the first few pages, she was able to read the parts she couldn't properly translate in the unlocking spell.

"It should say something about it in here somewhere." Twilight scanned over the pages, looking for any kind of explanation. ".. Must be performed by two unicorns with the correct talents... Form a circuit with your partner through physical contact... Aha! Details." She slid the book closer to Trixie and read it aloud. "The encyclopedia of the second path. Instructing in the ways of magic most powerful, only a select few are born in each generation with the capacities to learn it."

She skipped ahead a few lines

"This book is one of ten. Each book must have two willing participants with the right magical capacities, in order to be unlocked and studied. Caution, this is not something to be taken lightly. When the rite is performed, and the book is unlocked, the pair will be.." Twilight trailed off. "Oh my.."

"Oh my?" Trixie said, with a questioning tone. "Why 'Oh my?'" She read over the paragraph that Twilight had just been reading.

"...The pair will be bonded for life. One will never be complete without the other. Your fates will intertwine.

You will essentially become two halves of one being, with the book at your heart." She turned to Trixie.

Trixie returned an empty expression. "...Bullshit." Trixie said in a monotone. Receiving a somewhat shocked look from Twilight. "It's just a book. We just unlocked it. Our souls haven't bonded, we aren't two halves of the same.. Whatever!.. The book is most definitely not alive! And I'm not sticking around to play magician with you any longer! I helped you with this, I'm leaving." She turned away aggressively and charged out the front door with haste.

"Wha- Hey wait a second!" Too late, Trixie was gone.

Spike came toddling out of another room, his eyes were puffy and his eyelids were drooped, giving away that he had obviously just been sleeping. "What's going on, why all the noise? Can't a dragon get a little sleep around here.."

"Spike! Perfect timing, I need to to take a letter for me, I have figured out the book's secrets."

Spike yawned and gave his leg a quick scratch "Didn't you need some other special kind of unicorn for that?"

Twilight nodded and levitated the quill and paper over to Spike. "Trixie came over." She stated as if it were something that would normally happen in her day to day. "Now come on, make this quick, she just ran out and I have to go find her."

"I.. Trixie? As in 'The great and powerful'?" Spike held the quill and parchment limply in each hand. "What was _she_ doing here?"

"She heard and followed the book. Just like me." She said. Once again sounding as if there was nothing strange about it. "Are you ready, Spike? Dear Princess Celestia.."

"Never complete without the other?" Trixie scoffed "Unlikely." She mumbled to herself. She was still in Ponyville, wandering aimlessly through whichever streets seemed appealing at the time.. Well, not _exactly_ aimlessly, each street took her further away from Twilight Sparkle.

She took survey of her surroundings and drew a blank in regards to what it was she wanted to do, or where to go from here, not wishing to return to the inn just yet. So she continued to wander, occasionally mumbling to herself about the absurdity of the books claims.

Trixie was cantering through a nature strip when a headache arose. Passing it off as stress or heat related, given how minor it was, she ignored it, and made a note to stop in for a drink somewhere soon. Minutes later and the headache was raging. A heavy throb pounded against the inside of her skull, it felt as if a manticore was trying to brutishly force its way out.

_'You are a part of me now.'_

The voice had returned, and now she could understand it. Fruitlessly she attempted to fight the headache, drive it back.

_'Do not fight your fate. Return to me, return to your new sister.'_

"_Sis- She is NOT my sister!" _Trixie mentally screamed at the voice, soliciting a wave of near debilitating pain.

_'The pact was made, the contract has been signed. Do not fight your fate.'_

"_Like I care, I'm not going back!"_

_'Then you will experience this pain for the rest of your life.'_

To accentuate, Trixie was subjected to yet another bout of pain. Resistance was pointless, Trixie knew this, but she was determined to have her way.

"_Just leave me alone! I didn't know anything about a pact."_

_'Irrelevant.'_

"_I don't care about relevance! I'm telling you, I'm NOT going back!" _Trixie stamped a hoof.

_'You seem quite adamant. Very well, if you will not return willingly, you will be given no choice in the matter.'_

The pain receded, only to be replaced with a powerful dizzy spell. Trixie wobbled and staggered, and then fell to her side. In a short few moments, she lost consciousness.

Sorry about the less than normal length of this chapter, but I had to rush it at the end to meet the deadline I set myself. Would have had it done earlier, but SO MANY DISTRACTIONS.

Queensland bronies Brisbane meetup.

Job provider appointment.

New Sonic Screwdriver.

Ebay.

But now that most of these are out of the way, I can focus more on the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Explanations.**

_This was different.. It was like she was dreaming, but it felt different.. real. With one glaringly blatant exception, being the surrounding solid blue landscape._

"_Where am I?" Trixie muttered._

_'You are being hauled back to the library by Twilight and her young dragon companion.'_

_She scanned her eyes over the bare blue environment. "Doesn't look like it.."_

_'Let me clarify; Your physical body is being returned to the library. Your mind however is already here, with me.'_

"_You are an insistent one, aren't you." If she were using her voice, it would have been filled with contempt, it was blatantly obvious she was a mite upset about her predicament._

_'I thought we could use this time to talk.'_

"_With a book?"_

_'I am much more than that.'_

"_I gathered."_

_'Stop talking, just listen.'_

"_Am I upsetting you?" She chuckled. There were no plans in her mind to make things easy for the book._

_'You harbor feelings of resentment towards your partner, but these feelings are no fault of hers.'_

_This caught her attention, seems the book had no intention on making things easy for her either. "You don't know me, don't pretend you do."_

_'Your talents with the lower path of magic are.. Well, lets be fair, you have little to no talent at all.'_

"_Shut it." She spat._

_'And you know very well no matter how hard you try, no matter how many hours you poured into those books, into practice, you will never improve.'_

"_..."_

_'But you don't know why. Do you?'_

"_..No.. And it is exactly as you say, I have no special talents with magic. So why would a spell book want me?"_

_'I know why you can't improve. And I know I can help you.'_

"_..." To hell with it, what did she have to lose? "...Prove it."_

_'We have an agreement then?'_

* * *

><p>"Put her on the bean bag in the corner, Spike."<p>

Twilight and Spike had managed to not only find Trixie, but safely and discreetly escort her unconscious form back to the library.

"Why did we bring her back here again? She obviously doesn't want to be here, why keep her?" Spike callously rolled Trixie off of the small red cart she had been riding in, onto a beanbag that rested near a set of bookshelves.

"Because I.. The book told me we need her." She explained, taking a seat by the table.

"The book told you.. Do.. Do other things talk to you too Twilight?" Spike raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm not crazy, it's a magical book, okay?"

Spike toddled over to Twilight, and gave the book a once over. "Doesn't seem that special to me."

"Are you kidding? It's beautiful! Look at it," She brushed a hoof lightly over the cover. "It took me a while to notice that the cover is made out of wood. The carvings are immaculate. And look, " She held the book closer to Spike's face "the two unicorns on the cover, they almost look like Trixie and myself."

He scanned over it and shrugged. "Seems like any other normal dusty old book to me."

Taken aback, Twilight found Spike's response puzzling. "You can't be serious.."

He shrugged "Sorry, guess I just don't like books as much as you do."

_'This is to be expected.'_

For a moment Twilight had completely forgotten about the voice. She spun on the spot in surprise, looking for the source, and then nearly face-hoofed when she realized what is was.

_"Why is that?" _She asked, thinking it best to keep the conversation personal. Spike was confused enough about current events as it was without being subjected to her talking to herself on a regular basis.

_'It wouldn't bode well if another creature found me alluring, and decided he or she wished to have me for him or herself. To you and Trixie, I appear far more impressive than I do to anyone else. It is a defense mechanism of sorts.'_

"_Ah, I understand." _She answered. Though she hadn't yet had a chance to truly study the book yet, it was abundantly clear it was no normal book.

_'I am about to allow Trixie's mind to return to her body.'_

"I- What?"

'I have convinced her not to run off again.'

"You took her mind from her body?"

_'All we have to do is prove to her she will be able to learn what I have to teach.'_

"You aren't answering my question.."

'I feel no need to answer your question. Contact me when you and Trixie are ready to begin your first lesson.'

"_Wait, what did you mean by... You're gone aren't you?" _She was met with silence. _"I Thought so."_

As if the concept of a sentient book wasn't alien enough, now she had suspicions this book was keeping secrets. "A book isn't supposed to keep secrets, it is supposed to reveal them.." She mumbled to no one in particular.

A minute had only barely passed when Trixie regained consciousness. Much to Twilight's surprise, or perhaps it shouldn't have been surprising at all, she wasn't at all shocked at the fact that she was lying in a beanbag in Twilight's home. Nor was she at all concerned as to why. One would think she had just been resting.

"If we could just get this out of the way as soon as possible, that would be great. I have places to be." Trixie told her as she took a seat in front of the book.

"The book said we could call on it when we were ready to get started." Twilight flipped the book open. "Not sure what it means, but it can't be that hard to figure out." She read through the pages "Must be in here somewhere.."

Trixie, impatient and still a great deal peeved, stepped forward, tapped her hoof on the book and ordered it to 'Wake up'. "You wanted to know when we were ready, well we're ready."

_'Brilliant. If you would look to the very back page, there you will find the first topic of discussion.'_

"Discussion?" Trixie asked. "You told me you would be teaching me, not talking to me! You've talked quite enough."

_'I realize you carry it in short supply, but patience would be nice. Before we begin lessons, there are matters that must be addressed first.'_

"Did you just insult me?"

_'I am merely the voice of an age old tome filled with some of the most powerful knowledge and experience known to pony kind. What would I gain from such an act?'_

"..You're still making fun of me, aren't you?" Trixie had to restrain herself from tossing the book into a fireplace.

_'I have no plans on making this easy for you' _Though the voice lacked any audible signs of emotion, it was easy to tell the book was quite amused with itself_. 'Now if you would be so kind as to turn to the last page.'_

After waiting a few long seconds, Twilight realized she was going to have to be the one that handled any orders the book gave. She turned to the last page, which had on it, a list of names.

**Starswirl**

Lord Riddle – Lady Morgana

Benighted – Magenta Shine

Solius** – Chimera**

**Rapacity – **Amaranthine

**Twilight Sparkle –Trixie**

((AN: Fanfiction has no strikeout font support, so for the sake of the story, the names that are not in bold text are the ones referred to as being lined out))

_'There are ten copies in total. Each is inherently the exact same book as myself, with the fundamental differences mirroring the souls of the users. Only four copies have been found, the rest still lie in wait.'_

"Starswirl? Starswirl the beard! He owned a copy?" Twilight half shouted in excitement. "He learned from one of these books!"

_'Not precisely.' _

Twilight scrunched her eyebrows "Then.. These aren't previous owners?"

_'They are. But Starswirl is a.. Special case. I am afraid that is all I can tell you in regards to that matter.'_

"I see.. And the ones that are lined out?"

_'They have passed on.'_

"Oh.. But.. Why isn't Starswir-"

_'As I have already said, he is a special case, and that is all I know of the matter.'_

"All you know?"

_'I only know what I am designed to know. Nothing more.'_

"I don't understand.."

_'I learn only what I am designed to learn. I teach only what I am designed to teach. Everything else I either adapt or simulate. Like, for example, the language I am currently using to communicate, or the personality I have chosen. Both are based on information gathered from yours and Trixie's mind.'_

"So you have been given artificial life and intelligence? Any semblance of actual life, or personality is all some form of simulation?"

_'Correct. Of course that much should be obvious, I have no blood pumping through my veins. Or veins for that matter. My 'life' could only be the product of magic.'_

Slowly, Twilight nodded her head. And then she furrowed her brow and shook it. "But that's not possible. Magic can't give life. At the very most, it can save it, or prolong it. At least, not any kind of magic I know."

_'You are both right and wrong, Twilight. No form of magic YOU know can give life to the lifeless.'_

"You're saying you know of magic that could say, give life to a rock? Or even raise the dead?"

_'You could not give life to a rock, at least not the kind of life you have. But there are such ways to raise the dead, mind you, that is not a very pleasant thing to do. Not that I believe you would ever do such a thing.'_

"But something gave life to you. Why couldn't the same be done for a rock?"

_'You said it in your own words, Twilight. How could you have already forgotten? My life is artificial.'_

"But-"

Trixie twitched an eye "Enough! I can see this going in circles already! The names, the ones that have lines though them are dead. Other than Starswirl who is a special case, but you don't know any more than that. You aren't really alive, and I'm getting annoyed with all of this. Can we move on?"

_'Quite right. As you can see, your names have been added to the list. And will appear in every other book, which means that not only will you have knowledge of the others, but they will have knowledge of you.'_

"Why?" Twilight and Trixie asked in unison. Trixie glared at Twilight and returned her gaze to the book.

_'I am I have no clue.'_

"Great.." Trixie frowned. "Do me a favor and stick to talking about what you actually know."

_'We can move on.'_

"Fantastic. What now?"

_'Levitation.'_

"What!" Trixie grit her teeth. "We already KNOW how to levitate things, it is one of, if not the VERY FIRST thing we learn!" She spat.

_'Then you must forget. For to learn what I have to teach, we must start at the very beginning. Trust me, you will understand very quickly why this is how it has to be done.'_

"Fine."

_'Thank you. Twilight, for this test we will need something large and heavy. Tell me, what is the maximum amount of weight you have ever lifted with your magic at one time?'_

Twilight's eyes swiveled up, indicating she was thinking. "Quite a bit, I was able to carry an Ursa Minor back to its den. It took a great deal of concentration and I was a little tired afterward... And it just now occurred to me I could have made that a whole lot easier for myself if I had just cast a featherweight enchantment."

_'How much do you think you could lift while suffering a great deal of distraction?'_

__"I don't know.. Um, Half that, maybe? Possibly.."

_'Let us find out then. Find something heavy enough to warrant your undivided attention while lifting. Trixie, meanwhile, will attempt to distract you while you do so.'_

Trixie, whom had spent a great deal of the conversation glaring at either the book, Twilight or the floor. finally let slip the makings of a smile. _"I'm so going to be throwing books at her face."_

Twilight, on the other hand was looking slightly upset. "I don't think I have anything heavy enough laying around."

_'Then we must go find something. It is a lovely day outside, I am sure.'_

Trixie then frowned for a moment, but her smile returned quickly _"Rocks will have to do then."_

* * *

><p>End of chapter 4. Not quite two thousand words (1957 to be exact, not including all this.), but I felt this chapter needed to end here, after all of that talking. That and I wanted to keep to my deadline, which meant rushing it once again. I'll not be doing that anymore, I'll make sure to start the next chapter as soon as possible, rather that letting it wait until closer to the deadline.. Again..<p>

Edit: I've fixed some false information regarding how much I believed a unicorn could lift with his or her magic (Which now that I am fully rested, seems so painfully obvious I should slap myself. Thanks again for the anonymous reader on fimfiction that pointed it out. That could have been a bloody irritating fallacy to be partially basing the next chapter on.

On the plus side, it helped push the chapter length past two thousand words!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The sparrow treatment.**

There are few places near Ponyville that were both safe, and empty. If it wasn't somewhere that was frequented by ponies on a daily basis, it was instead fraught with all kinds of danger. Luckily, Twilight Sparkle had something most ponies did not; privileges bestowed upon her as the apprentice of Princess Celestia herself. It took little more than half an hour to message Celestia, asking for permission to cordon off one of the least populated fields of Ponyville for personal use.

_'You've located a large enough item?'_

The ground shook slightly when Twilight dropped an impressively large boulder she had found nearby. "This was the largest boulder I could find. Only about a quarter of the size of the Ursa Minor, but at least half as heavy, if not more."

_'Perfect. When you are ready, lift it above your head, and hold it there for as long as you can. Trixie?'_

The azure mare, whom had been sprawled across the grass, half asleep while waiting for Twilight to return, quickly jumped to her hooves. "Right, let's go."

Twilight hoisted the boulder up, and held it roughly half a meter above her head. "So how does this work, will Trixie be making noises? Or funny face-" Her line of speech was interrupted by the impact of a small, hard pebble. It struck her dead on the shoulder, causing her to flinch, jump in the opposite direction and drop the boulder. "What was that!" The sound of snickering stole her attention; Twilight looked at Trixie, whom looked to be having a very difficult time holding back laughter.

_'That was awfully quick.'_

Twilight frowned. "I wasn't ready for that!"

_'My apologies, shall I warn you the next time Trixie attempts to distract?'_

"She threw a rock at me. That's not a distraction, that's an attack." She rotated her throbbing shoulder and shot a glare at the still snickering Trixie.

_'Distractions can come in many forms. If you were attempting to lift something heavy amidst battle, would you be upset and cry about the fairness of it all if you had your concentration broken by an enemies hoof?'_

"No, but this isn't battle, this is just magic practice."

_'Irrelevant. And in any case, the entire point of this was to demonstrate the shortcomings of your current method of magical execution.'_

"And you're going to show us a better way?"

_'Not exactly. I have within all the information you need, but you will have to figure out most of it for yourselves. I lack the capabilities to demonstrate.'_

"I see... And this information will help improve our spells?"

_'Not just improve. You will be rebuilding them from the ground up.'_

"Wow... So let's get started then!"

"About time" Trixie muttered.

Levitation had always been the simplest form of magical manipulation a unicorn would learn, most did so at a very young age. Simply enough, the unicorn would surround the object they wished to lift or move with a thick enough layer of magic to form a grip on said object. More often than not, ponies would use far more magical energy than necessary when doing this.

The book presented a different method entirely. One that just didn't seem like it would ever work. Magic may be capable of many things, however, it still had its limits.

At least, that was what Twilight Sparkle first thought when she read through the chapter on physical manipulation. It claimed that the popular method of doing so was crude and wasteful, using the magical equivalent of brute force to make an object react to the casters desires. Granted, the popular methods were the only methods the general unicorn populace were able to use. Twilight and Trixie were not the general populace.

**"In their baser elements, everything in the world is made up of energy. And magic is pure and untainted energy. As such, if it exists it has some form of a magical presence. A wielder of the second path is able to manipulate the energy inside all existing things, meaning he/she will rarely have to spend their own pools of magic when manipulating matter.**

For example, instead of gripping an item with your magic, feel for the magic inside the item. Once you are able to feel it, you can manipulate it in any fashion you can perceive. Make it levitate, make it invisible or intangible, or even make it so it is perceived by others as something else entirely."

It had been over half an hour since she had read the passage and still Twilight was having trouble understanding it. "I get what it's trying to tell me. I do. But it just seems... impossible to me. I tried to use the magic inside the boulder, but every time I try to move it, I instinctively grip it with my own magic."

_'Obviously you must retrain your instincts.'_

"How can instincts be retrained?"

_'Through adaption. You are trying too hard to learn this as quickly as possible. You can be just as impatient as Trixie at times.'_

"I'm not impatient!"

_'Have you bothered to see how she was fairing with her own attempts at this?'_

"No. Why?"

Twilight spun on the spot to look over to where Trixie had been practising and nearly had to dig her jaw from the dirt.

Surrounding Trixie were hundreds of small pebbles suspended in mid air by an invisible force. Normally when a unicorn would use her magic, there would be a distinctive coloured glow, an mauve glow in Trixie's case. There was no glow, she wasn't using her own magic to lift them.

"I don't see why you're finding this so difficult, Twilight." She mused while the pebbles orbited her.

Twilight was dumbfounded. "B-But how! How in Equestria are you able to do that and yet I can't even bend a blade of grass?"

_'You approach this sceptically, because it goes against everything you have learned of magic. You're trying to hard to apply this knowledge. Trixie approached it in the way a child would approach a new toy. Curious to see what it can do, and willing to accept that it won't do the same things all her old toys do.'_

"You're calling us children now?"

_'As a child, you were more accepting of any new information you were given. Remember a time when you truly believed in the easter bunny? But now that you are older, you cannot accept something unless you can find at least three sources of proof to back it up. I'm saying you must approach this with the same optimism you had as a child.'_

"I think I understand... But that would mean forgetting everything I know about how magic works."

_'Not forget, adapt. There is nothing wrong with your understanding of magic, there is simply more to learn.'_

"Approach it like a child..." With this new outlook, Twilight turned her attention to the boulder once again. "Should I start out with something smaller?"

_'It makes no difference. But if you think you should, it may help you get into the right mindset.'_

"If it doesn't change anything..." If she understood correctly, she now knew what she was doing wrong. She was attempting to apply her current methodologies to this new style. She would have to adapt this new style without looking to her old styles.

_"I have to feel for the energy that dwells inside the boulder... I guess closing my eyes will help, dull one sense, strengthen others."_

With her eyes shut, all she could do was feel. It was common knowledge that the horn of a unicorn has special properties that make the shaping, weaving and casting of magic possible. But it was not very well known that the horn was also a spectacular receiver, it could be used to sense even the faintest of energy signals. A seasoned wielder of the second path is able to use this extra sense to determine the origin, type and direction of certain energy signals picked up with his or her horn. Any unicorn could train this sense, but only a wielder of the second path was able to put it to practical use. This was because they were able to not only sense these energy signals, but manipulate them as well.

Trixie was quickly able to pick up these signals, but it was no fluke. She had lived most of her life in solitude, travelling between cities, towns and villages. Most nights all that she had to do to entertain herself was to simply lay there and take in everything that surrounded her, inadvertently strengthening this new sense in the process. Twilight, on the other hoof, was always finding ways to keep herself busy. Whether that was with her studies or her friends. She had rarely taken the time to laze about and take in everything around her.

Thankfully, being gifted with the capacities to wield the energy inside all physical bodies granted a wielder of the second path the ability to awaken this sense faster than your average unicorn. When Twilight Sparkle finally began to sense the latent energies inside the boulder, everything fell neatly into place.

Outside of Twilight's mind, only eighteen seconds had passed. But on the inside, it felt as if it had been at least fifteen minutes. At first the feeling had only been just that, a feeling. But after a few short moments, as she adapted it quickly evolved into something else entirely.  
>With her eyes shut, she could still see the boulder. Not in the same way she could see it with her eyes open, but rather, she could seemingly see every speck of energy, every molecule, every atom that made up the boulder's physical form.<p>

_"This... This is amazing."_

'Isn't it just?'

The book Chimed in, _'You are seeing something only a select few on the planet are able to see. What you can see is essentially what makes up the entire universe.'_

"Wow... And I can interact with this?"

'Once you have learned everything there is to know, you could do anything you could imagine with it.'

"And Trixie can see this too?"

'She can. Though I think she is far too distracted with the novelty of what she is doing to notice the beauty of it.'

Solidifying the book's point, Trixie could be heard snickering. Twilight opened her eyes and glanced over to her. Trixie had a floating arrangement of pebbles and stones that together formed the shape of herself, and a huge was grin plastered across her face. Twilight giggled and returned her focus to the boulder.

"First time I've ever seen her genuinely smiling without it being at the expense of someone else."

_'I think it is the first time she truly feels she is accomplishing something. You know, she doesn't hate you.'_

_"I know. I don't think she would have even given me the time of day to activate you if she had. But she certainly doesn't like me one at all."_

_'She hates what you represent to her.'_

_"Huh?"_

_'To her, you are the embodiment of everything she could never be. You see, whereas you were born with a very impressive pool of magic, that has only grown over time. She was born with an underdeveloped pool, that hasn't grown at all. She can only perform the simplest of magical tricks which have a minimal drain. Her body won't let her do anything bigger, because if a unicorn were to completely drain his or her pool, they would likely die, if not come very close.'_

_"So... All of her boasting was her way of coping?"_

_'Precisely. And you have to give her credit. She was clever and creative enough to think of ways to make even the most simple of feats look very impressive.'_

_"Yeah..."_

Her conversations with the book had always been eye opening, and this one was no different. Though she had known Trixie's boastful and somewhat aggressive nature might be her way of coping, Twilight could never have imagined just how deep things went with her.

Twilight once again closed her eyes and regained the visual of the boulders energy. This time, rather than just marvel in awe she attempted to interact. She willed the boulder to move, and slowly as she got a handle on how different it was to regular magic, the boulder rose. As it edged further and further into the air, she slowly opened her eyes.

"I did it!" She squealed in excitement.

"And about time, too." Trixie commented. "It's getting late, and I need to get back to the inn."

"Okay Trixie. See you again tomorrow?"

"Yes, yes. The same time as today. Goodbye Twilight. And to you too... Um... Book? It has occurred to me that we haven't got an actual name for you. And referring to you as 'the book' all the time is really strange."

_'My name is Enchiridion. Thank you for asking by the way.'_

"Sorry," Twilight smiled nervously, "We probably should have asked earlier. But this was all just so new and exciting."

_'Understandable. I take it we are turning in for the day?'_

"Yeah. Trixie has to go back to an inn. And I should really clean up around my house, I left screwed up pieces of paper all over the place."

_'Very well.'_

End of the fifth chapter. And finally getting into the swing of things! Won't be long now until I reveal the main conflict and villain.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter**** 6: ****Shift**

Trixie's eyes snapped open at the faintest touch of the amber light that filtered through her curtains. It had become almost perfectly routine over the last week.

She would awake shortly after first light, wolf down a breakfast, tend to her morning cooking and cleaning duties as quickly as possible and inform Violet and Foxtrot that she would be leaving, and will return for the dinner shift. And they never once complained, they had both been trying to get her to spend some time away from the inn.

When she arrived at Twilight's home she let herself in, not bothering to knock. Not only did she know this irritated Twilight, she also felt that if she was indeed tied to her for life as the book had told her, she had every right to do so.

"Would it kill you to knock?" Twilight groaned out her customary greeting.

Trixie returned in kind the same thing she had been telling her for the last three days now. "What's yours is mine now, remember?"

"I never agreed to that."

_'__You __agreed __when __you __both __signed __the __contract__. __Or __did __you __not __read __the __fine __print__?'_

"You stay out of this!" Twilight glared. Trixie and Twilight were not the only ones to be developing over the last week. The book, Enchiridion, had been showing a lot more personality and emotion than it had been at first. Unfortunately, the personality it had adapted was incredibly sarcastic and enjoyed poking fun whenever possible.

_'__If __you__'__re __both __done __with __the __pleasantries__, __I __think __we __should __continue __your __training__.'_

"Will we be learning something new? Or are we still 'not yet ready to move on'?" Trixie grumbled. Enchiridion had not let them move on from simple levitation yet, despite the fact that they had both practically mastered it. In fact, Trixie had mastered it on the third day, she could focus in on any object and lift it with ease, whereas Twilight had only caught up two days after.

"We're both able to do it perfectly fine! What are we waiting for?"

_'__You__.'_

Trixie blinked. "What? Me? I was the first one to be able to do it!"

_'__But __you __haven__'__t __yet __explored __HOW __you __do __it __in __detail__. __Twilight __has __long __since __overtaken __you__.'_

"What's there to explore! I use the energy in the rock to pick it up rather than using my own damn magic!" Hearing the news that Twilight was now doing better than her really pushed some buttons.

_'__In __order __to __move __on __to __more __advanced __magic__, __you __have __to __truly __understand __how __it __works__. __No__ '__ifs__, __buts __or __maybes__'.'_

Well... Tell me how it works then!"

_'__I __can__'__t__. __Knowing __and __understanding __are __two __completely __different __things__, __and __one __of __them __can __only __be __achieved __by __you__. __And __you __alone__.'_

She let out a frustrated sigh and hesitantly nodded. She would keep practicing the stupid levitation and surpass Twilight once again.

"Fine. But once I'm done with this, we move on to something more interesting."

_'__Of __course__. __Now __get __to __work__, __you__'__re __holding __Twilight __back__.'_

Trixie twitched. It was doing this to her on purpose, she knew that. But it still worked.

* * *

><p>Three hours. Three long, boring hours. And she finally thought she might understand what the book was raving on about.<p>

It took longer than it should have. Trixie had spent most of the time trying to 'understand' how the magic was performed, when instead she should have been trying to understand how she was able to perform it at all, and what was truly special about it.

Unlike the conventional 'Apply magic – get results' methods that all unicorns were able to do, a second path user was able to get results with will alone, using magic that was already present. Twilight had figured this out on day one, but what she had yet to figure out was how.

The source of their power lay within their minds. An extra brainwave.

Wielders are born with this genetic abnormality that allowed them to interact, and to an extent, alter the universe around them without the use of their own magic. It was a very rare abnormality and it was thought to be something bestowed upon a select few by a higher power.

Trixie couldn't figure out the second part by herself of course. As it turned out, the book could tell her, but she had to ask nicely first.

"Can we move on now?" Trixie was still peeved about the book withholding the information she needed just because she didn't say please. She spoke ice cold daggers.

_'__Now __that __you__'__ve __caught __up __to __current __events__, __I __don__'__t __see __why __not__. __Twilight__, __you__'__ve __been __practicing __the __next __spell__, __show __Trixie __what __to __do__.'_

"WHAT! You let her move on while I was still doing the freaking levitation!" She was livid. All that bullshit about not letting them move on until they had both finished. It had let her move on without her.

_'Only just today.'_

"I don't care if it was two days ago! She isn't allowed a head start!"

_'__This __isn__'__t __a __competition__.'_

"It is to m-" That last word caught in her throat, and burned like acid. _It__is__to__me_... She thought she was excited because she was finally able to progress in life, rather than being stuck in the same boring routines. As it turned out, she was only eager to prove she was the better of the two. Her whole life had been spent pretending she was better than most others, the sudden reality check had hit her hard and for the moment felt as if it were imprinted in her cheek. She wore a broken expression, caught between a scowl and a grimace.

"...Show me what I have to do Twilight." She decided to drop the issue, and let the wheel continue turning. Trying too hard to be the best, and getting angry when she found out Twilight had moved ahead would only hinder her more.

Twilight smiled and trot to the far side of the room. Trixie blinked and Twilight was on the other side of the room. She had teleported without any noise, or flashes of light accompanying her.

Considering she wasn't even able to do this with normal magic, this excited Trixie immensely. "Teleportation? Brilliant!"

* * *

><p>And so the routine continued for another four days. Inn – Training – Inn – Sleep – Repeat. But she didn't mind so much anymore now that she knew how fantastic the things she was learning really were.<p>

The teleportation spell worked far more efficiently for a user of the second path, or 'Wielder' as the book had commonly referred to them as. The normal spell was brutish in a sense. It involved forcing the desired object through a rift and forcing it back out at the desired location. Tricky business, because if you messed it up while using it on something living... Well, things could get messy. Only the more confident of unicorns could commonly teleport themselves or others at will without consequence. It also lacked range, with the limit being roughly a kilometre, and you could only go somewhere you could see clearly.

A Wielder could go almost as far as they pleased, with the only drawback being that they had to have been there before so they could properly visualize where they were going. Rather than forcing open rifts, it broke up the object (or pony) and reassembled it in the chosen location. It sounded dangerous but so long as the Wielder understood what they were doing, it was perfectly safe. This was exactly why Enchiridion wouldn't let her move on.

It was apparent they were ready to move on when Trixie was able to appear in the middle of Twilight's living room unannounced and declare her arrival as she would when she performed on stage.

"What are we doing next?"

_'__Nothing __today__...'_

"I- What?"

_'__Something __is __off__...'_

"Off? What do you mean?"

_'__You __and __Twilight __aren__'__t __the __only W__ielders __in __the __room__. __I__'__m __trying __to __figure __out __her __intent__.'_

"Another W-"

_'__Don__'__t __let __her __know __I __know __she__'__s __here__!'_

That was the first time Enchiridion had shown it was able to raise its voice.

"Too late, book." An alien voice sounded off in the corner. Both Twilight and Trixie swung their heads around, searching for the pony that spoke.

_'__In __the __corner__.'_

"Under the bean bag?" Trixie asked quizzically.

_'__She __IS __the __bean bag__.'_

"Very clever." The beanbag in the corner quivered, shook and began to shift its form. Its once purple coloration faded into white, it grew four legs and a head, and then a tail and mane, both golden, streaked with silver. A cutie mark appeared on her flank, smoke and mirrors.

Strapped to her back was a saddle bag with a familiar looking book poking partway out.

_'__She __is __a __Wielder__.'_

"She has a name. Chimera." She introduced herself, sounding somewhat uninterested.

_'__How __can __you __hear __me__?'_

"I can't. Index can."

_'__Of __course__. __Your __book__. __Hello__, __Index__.'_

Twilight cleared her throat. "If I might intercede for a moment. Why are you in my house?"

A fair question. They had no idea who she was beyond her name and that she was a Wielder.

"I'm not here to fight you, if that's what you're wondering."

"Then why were you hiding in the corner? Why not, oh, I don't know. KNOCK!" Twilight had already had her fill of Trixie letting herself in, and now somepony else was doing it.

"Hey, I couldn't know for sure YOU wouldn't attack ME. Wielders aren't always the nicest ponies around; some would kill ya as soon as look at ya. Trust me... I know."

_'__Your __partner__...'_

"...Yup. That's what I'm here about actually. We got a bad egg."

"A bad egg? What?" Trixie asked.

"Listen, blue. By the looks of things, you've only been in this business for a short time. It gets really good. The things we can do are truly fantastic. Problem is, some of us don't like the idea of other ponies being just as powerful if not stronger than they are. And girl, if I know about you, you can bet he does too." She shakes her bag. "We're all in the books."

"Who is he?" Trixie wouldn't let it show, but this news had her nervous. She had never been very good in a real fight.

"Who's the only other living Wielder in the book other than yourselves and me? And I'll give you a hint, it isn't Starswirl."

While Trixie racked her brain, Twilight had the bright idea of looking through the book. "Rapacity?"

"The purple one is smart. Yep, Rapacity. Mean sonovabitch. Killed Solius, nearly killed me too. Guy has one overinflated superiority complex, kept ranting on about running the universe. The bloody universe! Not happy with only the country, or the world. Nope, gotta have all of it."

"You came to warn us then?" Unlike Trixie, who was doing her best not to let it show, Twilight looked increasingly worried. "What should we do? We've only been doing this for about a fortnight. We can't fight him."

"Like I said. If I could find you, he can too. You aren't exactly a hard one to find, apprentice of Celestia. Pack up shop, get your friends to tell anyone who asks that you just packed and left. If they know where you're going, they'll be in danger."

"What? But we can't just leave! I have duties here, and friends... And what about Spike?, he's just a baby dragon..."

"Sorry Twi. But unless you want to die, and possibly get most of your friends killed to boot, you need to get your flank moving. I have to get going too, but I'll keep in contact. If we're going to stop this psycho, we'll need to work together, but not till you've improved your own skills. Try not to take too long, we don't know when he plans on, y'know, taking over the entire frigging universe. Later Twi, Trixie." Chimera disappeared. Teleported to another location, the pair presumed.

An ominous silence fell across the room. Trixie was now shaking slightly, while Twilight was pacing back and forth, trying to get her mind sorted after this new information overload.

_"What am I going to do? We can't take Spike with us, he wouldn't be able to keep up if things got dangerous. I guess Fluttershy could look after him, but... Oh Celestia, what do I tell my friends!"_

Over with Trixie, she was having her own dilemmas._ "We're in danger? What did we ever do to this guy? What do I tell Violet and Foxtrot?"_

'I hate to interrupt your panicking, but I think we should start packing, and think while we run. Leave a note with Spike and go. I feel uncomfortable being here.'

"I can't just leave a note!"

'It would make things much easier, and you would be less tempted to tell them anything that could get them killed.'

"I... Dammit. You're right... Trixie, help me pack some food and a few maps..."

"I will later, I have to go tell Violet and Foxtrot!"

_'__Trixie__, __no__. __They __can__'__t __know __about __it__. __Things __would __be __far __better __if __they __just __think __you __ran __away__.'_

She growled. "...Fine. Give me a damn bag."

They didn't take very long. A set of saddlebags each, filled with food, maps, toiletries and Enchiridion. Twilight left a small, hastily written and slightly tear-streaked note next to the sleeping form of her faithful companion, Spike. She softly kissed his cheek. "Goodbye, Spike... I hope I can come back some day."

It was bordering nightfall when they set off. The Everfree forest seemed as good a place as any to hide out until they figured out where to go next.

* * *

><p>* Pen toss* There. I finally got the actual plot (stop snickering) up and running.<p> 


	7. Updates

Updates!

For those who don't follow me on who don't know about the big updates I have planned for my story, here's a quick outline.

I'm changing the format and editing in some extra stuff in the earlier chapters in order to meet the strict criteria and high standards of Equestria Daily. One of the reviewers from Equestria Daily emailed me a little while after I submitted my story and told me the few things I should fix up for my story to be at its best. Only then will they feature it on the website itself.

So yeah, that, coupled with my current lack of a consistent internet connection means new chapters will be a little ways away. But fear not, they will come!


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Plans**

Thunderous applause echoed across the stadium as the blue unicorn atop the stage ended his show with an almighty crack of electricity. Twilight couldn't resist this opportunity to goad Trixie a little. "Now THAT was showmanship! Don't you think, Trixie? He delivered what he promised AND more!"

Aside the purple mare sat an azure one. Trixie had also enjoyed the show, but she knew what Twilight was doing. That didn't make it any less effective of course. "Why would I care?"

"I'm just saying, if you knew him before you started your act, you might have been more successful." Twilight said as she shrugged.

_ 'That's pushing the envelope a little, Twilight. Perhaps just a little more successful.' _Enchiridion said.

"Oh, don't you start!" She hissed loudly in Enchiridion's general direction, trying to keep her voice down lest she earn any looks from strangers in the crowd.

"Want to go ask for his autograph?" Twilight continued to poke at Trixie, with a playful grin etched across her face.

Nearing a month since they had fled Ponyville, for fear of being tracked down by a most devious colt by the name of Rapacity. One could say they had grown closer, if only a little. Twilight often looked for opportunities to get a rise out of Trixie, and Trixie no longer got royally pissed off at her when she did so.

Beyond that, not much had changed. They trained for most of the day, and spent the afternoons enjoying themselves. Today they had chosen to visit a show in Canterlot starring a single unicorn colt whom used his magic to perform impressive visual spectacles and music with four large Tesla coils. Very loud, but overall it was entertaining.

"Can we just go?" Trixie asked, with an obvious firmness lacing her voice. It was less of a question and more of a recommendation, if not a demand.

Through with her fun, Twilight nodded and gathered up her things, making sure the book was sitting securely in her saddlebag. "Yeah, yeah. Let's go. We have to get up early for training anyway."

* * *

><p>The last month had earned them yet another useful talent; they were now able to turn themselves invisible, to an extent.<br>Through the manipulation and refraction of sunlight off of their hide, they could give themselves an almost chameleon-like appearance. When moving, an observant pony would be able to see the awkward bends in the light. But standing perfectly still rendered them almost unnoticeable.  
>They had learned this within the first week and a half, much quicker than they were meant to, but current events had forced Enchiridion to fast track their training by cutting out most of the least necessary theory.<p>

For the last week and a half, they had been learning something far more advanced then simple particle manipulation. Well, it was still particle manipulation, but far more advanced. They were learning how to turn one inanimate object, a rock for example, into a completely different inanimate object, for example, a chunk of wood.

Surprisingly, Trixie was in the lead for this one. But only slightly. She was able to turn a hoof sized stone into petrified wood. Twilight could turn only a small pebble into wood.  
>The larger the object, the more particles and energy they had to manipulate and modify, thus adding more complexity to the task.<p>

Enchiridion said _'I hate to be a bother, you are both doing very well. Your progress is amazing compared to how it should be. But you do need to pick up the pace.'_

"We're trying, Enchiridion, we really are. But like you said, we're already doing far better than normal, and it's really hard." Twilight groaned as her hoof sized stone changed into a different coloured stone, but remained a stone none the less.

Over on the other side of the book, Trixie kept quiet. Knowing she would just berate the book for expecting too much of them, and that would get them nowhere fast. Instead she focused on her slab of petrified wood, the prospect of doing this faster than Twilight drove her on.

In total, it took the two mares two weeks to fully grasp the object transformation spell. And even then they still weren't quite able to perform it efficiently, but they would have to practice more in the future as Enchiridion insisted they move on as quickly as possible.

They would next learn to control energy that was constantly moving. The energy that resides within water and fire.  
>Water was tricky because unless it could be properly controlled, you may as well be trying to lift it with a fork. It wouldn't cooperate at all.<br>Fire was similar, but inherently more dangerous. Lack of precision control could turn disastrous, causing the fire to violently explode and spread, or snuff the fire out completely.

Enchiridion, currently resting upon a tree stump, flipped open. It flew through its own pages, coming to a halt at the beginning of a chapter with a long winded opening paragraph describing among other things the common applications of elemental magic.

_ 'Controlling the elements is one of the oldest and most beneficial types of magic in a Wielders arsenal.' _Enchiridion started its usual short explanation. _'No matter where you end up, there will almost always be a ready supply of earth, water and fire. Earth based magic in its simplest form is the easiest to learn. As such, today you will be starting with water and fire. Any questions before we begin?'_

Twilight and Trixie stood across from the book, each emanating a similar yet wholly different type of confidence.

Twilight, whom had taken the initiative to study the book in her spare time, already had a firm grasp of the theory behind elemental magic. Seating herself on the ground with her front hooves spaced the width of her head apart, she began a breathing exercise to center herself.

Trixie on the other hoof had never so much as glanced over a single line that Enchiridion hadn't specifically told them to. But she had an ingrained determination to prove she could do this better and faster than Twilight. "I have a question." She grinned. "Which one is the hardest of the two?"

_ 'That depends on how you look at it. Fire is easier to control but obviously far more dangerous should you make a mistake. Water has more weight to it, tends to want to flow away from you.' _It answered. _'Knowing you, you'll want to go with the more dangerous- hey!'_

Trixie was already flipping through Enchiridion's pages, looking for the section on fire. "You have me all figured out, don't you, book?" She muttered sarcastically and scratched around the dirt for a dried out and browning leaf she could use to start a small fire to work with.

* * *

><p>"A little to the left. Little more. Yes, fantastic! Thanks a bunch."<br>Center stage, surrounded by four tall towers of titanium, aluminum and copper was a male unicorn with a coat of deep blue, his mane an emerald green -with eyes to match- featuring streaks of fluorescent aqua and his tail almost completely missing.

"Glad I could help, mister Arc. I'm really looking forward to the show tonight!" A young earth pony stagehand assisting the unicorn named Arc with his equipment bowed his head and grinned in anticipation. 3 minutes until showtime.

"So am I!" Arc laughed heartily and trotted over to the front left tower to give it a light tap. "I never tire of this. These Tesla coils are my pride and joy." He grinned. His grin was wide, friendly and sat very comfortably upon his face, as if it were often there and rarely absent. "Best back up, show is about to begin!"

"Absolutely, good luck sir!" The stagehand scampered off of the stage to find his place in the wings.

Alone on stage, Arc peeked through the curtains at the large and still growing crowd. All gathered here to watch him perform. Words could not express how incredibly thrilled he was to finally have a show in Canterlot.

Arc's horn fizzled and sparked, hinting at the anticipation that pounded inside him. The stage light operators shined the bright lights onto him, causing his coat to glimmer and shine. Arc's cutie mark practically leaped off of him when the light touched it. A curved azure line with electricity crackling around it. An azure arc.

_ 3, 2, 1. Show time! _The curtains flew open as Arc hoisted himself up onto his rear hooves. His forelegs held above his head and his grin widened to almost impossible proportions. "Good evening, ladies and gentlecolts. My name is Azure Arc!"

The initial round of applause flowed through his veins and pushed him to continue. Arc never let there be a dull moment. Starting with a simple demonstration of his coils, moving up to bigger and more impressive things. One moment he was surrounding himself with bolts of electricity, and with a simple levitation spell, lifting himself and the electricity off of the ground. The next he was performing a popular orchestral piece with no instruments. Only the four large Tesla coils with him on stage.

The show went for only an hour. Arc performed five songs, dozens of tricks and had even called upon two brave volunteers do walk among the electricity.

Arc ended the performance with Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture and a bolt held in between his hooves that he compressed down to a ball of plasma which he had then thrown into the air. It expanded and exploded in a flower-like shape of electricity. Arc bowed and the crowd roared to life, it was hard to tell what had been louder, his show or the crowd. Either way, his ever present grin never once faltered, even when the curtains drew shut and the crowd died down and left.

"Great show, mister Arc!" The young stagehand said as he rushed over to the exhausted blue colt with a glass of water in hoof. Which Arc happily accepted.

"Glad you enjoyed it," Arc smiled at him "I think I did really well!"

"Oh no doubt. Excuse me, I have to help clear the stage." The stagehand cantered back onto the stage along with the rest of the crew. Leaving Arc to return to his designated backstage room.

* * *

><p>Letting out a relieved sigh, Arc let himself fall backwards into his suddenly incredibly comfortable bean bag. These shows always pushed Arc's magical stamina to the limit.<p>

_ The coils are great for the music, but for all the visual effects, they're just so darn inefficient. _He thought to himself. Arc had been trying to brainstorm a solution to his problems for almost a year now. He didn't want to shrink the coils because that would sacrifice the audio quality. But he also needed smaller coils for his visual tricks. As they are, they're a massive waste of energy.

"Azure Arc, was it?"

Arc leapt from his beanbag in surprise and turned to find standing in the back corner of his room a white unicorn with a stunningly golden mane, and tail to match.

"Whoa now, didn't hear you come in!" Arc chuckled. "Azure Arc it is. Well, that's my stage name, just Arc really."

Chimera smirked "Not surprising. I didn't come in through the door." She slowly strode about the room, casually observing its not so interesting features. "Stage name eh? Not sure why you bother, Arc sounds perfectly fine a name to me."

Arc shrugged "Seemed like a good idea. Still seems like a good idea actually. Still, I suppose it isn't entirely necessary. Who are you and why was it you were here again?"

His sudden change in subject caught her slightly off guard, though she was expecting this question. Albeit much sooner in the conversation. "Well my name is Chimera, and as to why I'm here. Well, that's a long story, I'll tell you all about it, just need to check something first." Chimera pulled a large book from her saddlebag and set it down in front of Arc. "Tell me, can you hear it?"

Arc tilted his head slightly. "Hear what?"

Chimera tapped the book. "This. Can you hear this?"

Arc raised an eyebrow. "It's a book..."

"I know," Chimera rolled her eyes "just, listen. Can you hear it talking?"

"So the book talks?" Arc looked down at the book. "Hello... Book..."

_ 'Heya.' _The book answered.

"I- Wait what? Was that the book!" Arc's eyes were wide and fixed on to the book.

Chimera nodded and smiled. "So that's a yes? Oh you have no idea how friggin' brilliant it is to hear that. The book is called Index. And I'll be needing you to come with me for a little while. I'll tell you the whole story when we've gotten someplace safe."

Before he could utter so much as a syllable in protest, Chimera teleported both Arc and herself away.

* * *

><p>Under the cover of night a stranger to Ponyville strode into the small community, surrounded in an intangible shroud of dark intent. Flickering light cast by the lantern of a nearby house outlined the strangers features. He was a colt with a moderate to large build, the horn jutting from his forehead revealed his unicorn heritage. His coat was coloured a deep burgundy-brown, his mane and tail were almost the exact same colour with the exception of a single thin streak of black through both.<p>

The more interesting of his features however were his eyes. They were a common deep earthy brown but they seemed to hold within, age old secrets. His cutie mark, however, remained a mystery, hidden beneath a large satchel holding a single large book.

The colt chuckled darkly and made no effort to keep his voice down as he spoke aloud to himself.

"Not long now, Archive. Tonight we'll deal with the two newcomers, and once I've found that bitch Chimera, I'll kill her too." His chuckle transitioned into an almost manic laugh "And _that's _when we seize the kingdom from the sisters."

A slight flick of his tail and every light in his line of sight snuffed out, once again shrouding the colt in darkness. "All intelligent life in this world will soon fear and respect the name; Rapacity."

–

Finally got myself an internet connection! Have a new chapter!


	9. Chapter 8

_Days of damnation and fear will arise, when comes the colt with the deep-set eyes.__  
><em>_Behind his gaze a power lies, the solar eclipse triggers its rise.__  
><em>_Thirsting for power, the world is his prize, visions he sees of crimson skies.__  
><em>_Unshackled, the beast of the underworld cries, set free by the colt with the..._

_**...Deep Set Eyes.**_

First light poured into the room of a small burgundy-brown unicorn, causing him to roll face first into his bed in protest. Rapacity was not a pony for the mornings, especially not when he had spent the previous night drinking. "Be gone with you, sunlight. My eyes haven't the patience for you this morning." He groaned into his mattress. With great delicacy, Rapacity shifted his head to the side until his left eye was no longer buried within the safety of his mattress. His vision glared and his eyes begged for mercy, but he persisted to reach out towards the curtains with his magic, and draw them shut. No sooner had the light been snuffed out, had he breathed an exasperated sigh of relief and slid from his bed to the floor._ I'll just sit here for a few moments longer._

Rapacity's plans to spend some quality time with his bedroom floor were dashed with the head pounding sound of a hoof rapping against his front door. _The world hates me. Of this I am certain._

"Open the door you daft drunkard, I've found something brilliant!" A painfully familiar voice reverberated through the door, and Rapacity's head.

"Go away, Amaranthine. I'm still grieving the loss of a good portion of my liver." Rapacity called out, with his head held firmly between his hooves.

His door burst open and a stunningly beautiful deep purple-red unicorn mare with a dark pink mane and tail, and cobalt blue eyes cantered into his room with a smarmy grin spread across her features. "The first time is always the worst. But don't fret, you'll get used to it. Happy birthday for last night by the way. I'm sorry I couldn't make it but my mother found out there would be alcohol involved. You're lucky to have a home to yourself." Amaranthine nudged Rapacity with her left hoof.

Rapacity groaned once again. "Thank you. Now leave me alone for at least another two hours." he pulled himself from the floor and wobbled slightly. Once he had regained his balance he shoved Amaranthine out of his room and closed the door behind them both. He stared her down for a few moments, hoping she would take the hint and leave, but she was intent on having him hear her out. Rapacity sighed "Okay, fine. What is it that was so important that you had to interrupt my self pity?"

Amaranthine grinned. "I found a crack in the mountain wide enough to fit at least three ponies, that leads to a cave system that I'm certain is behind the castle. Up for a little adventure?"

Rapacity visibly flinched. "Adventure? Outside! Are you trying to kill me, woman!" He shrunk away into the kitchen and poked through his cupboards for something to snack on.

"You know you want to." Amaranthine smirked and trot a circle around Rapacity as he emerged from the kitchen with a carrot lazily orbiting his head. "And just think. The two of us, exploring a cave together. Alone. How very romantic." She giggled.

Rapacity stared at her, unamused. "You're a bitch and a tease." He mumbled.

To which Amaranthine replied with "You know you love me." and winked.

"Unfortunately. Yes." Rapacity let go a small smile. "Give me a few minutes to get something more than just this carrot into my stomach, and we can go."

* * *

><p>The crack in the mountain was indeed large enough to let three ponies freely enter. Further along the path, however, was a different story. The two unicorns were having a tough time squeezing through the narrow gaps. Amaranthine was making the best of the situation, always taking the lead whenever they had to go through in a single file. Forcing him to watch as her hips swung seductively. It was amazing how she could still swing them like that in such a constricting environment.<p>

"Why were we exploring this cave again?" Rapacity asked, hoping the reason would outweigh the frustration.

Amaranthine giggled. "Do we need a reason? We can't just spend a little time together on a leisurely stroll through the caves?"

Rapacity was not at all satisfied with this answer. He was however, incredibly relieved when the tight corridors finally opened up into a large and open cave. It was also incredibly dark. "I can't see a damn thing." He mumbled.

"Well then, cast a light spell." Amaranthine told him.

"Yeah, yeah. Give me one moment." The tip of Rapacity's horn began to glow. Before he completed the spell, something caught his attention and the light faded. "Wait, look. To the left. Is that natural light? I think we may have an easier way out."

With Amaranthine in tow, Rapacity tentatively trot through the pitch black environment, toward what he hoped was an opening to the outside. The gap was small, but no smaller than any of the gaps that they had pulled themselves through on the way here. Rapacity was able to squeeze through the crack and pull Amaranthine up behind him.

When he turned around, hoping to see the sun in the sky, despite his still throbbing head and stinging eyes, all he could see was the roof of yet another cave. "There's no end to it!" He shouted and kicked a wall. Regretting it immediately, he cradled his hoof and ruefully looked around the cave

Amaranthine glanced around the cave, puzzled. Something was out of place. "Where is the light coming from?" There were no other openings other than the one they had come through, so it wasn't sunlight. There were no torches on the walls, nor any obvious signs of magic. _So what could it possibly be? _She thought to herself.

"Curious..." Rapacity looked up to the top of a rocky incline. Something at the very top was emitting vast amounts of light. "Look, up there." He lifted his left hoof and gestured to the glowing orb-like object. "There is something in the middle of it." He mumbled and turned to Amaranthine. "You want to go see what it is?"

Wearing an amused and slightly intrigued expression, Amaranthine looked from the hill of rocks, to Rapacity, and took a leaning stance against the cave wall. "You go ahead, I'll be right here to offer moral support."

"Figures..." Rapacity muttered. He started the climb by taking his first step onto the most stable looking stone he could see, it wobbled ever so slightly but remained stable enough to allow him to lift the entirety of his body-weight onto the next stone, and then the next. Rapacity showed remarkable swiftness and balance, despite the scant purchase his hooves found. Many of the stones he had trodden on, had fallen out of place as soon as he had lifted his weight from them. Curiouser still, the closer he grew to the light emitting object, the duller the glow became.

Eventually he successfully manages to hoist himself onto the large, flat and surprisingly stable boulder atop the large mound of loose stones.

"I can't wait to see how you get back down!" Amaranthine called out to him, making no attempts at holding back laughter.

Rapacity was not paying any attention to her. Atop the rocky incline, bathed in its own light and levitating half a meter above the boulder where he now stood, was a large book.

Slowly, he reached a hoof out and brushed the tip of it against the hard wooden cover. As he did so, the light suddenly died and darkness washed over the cave and everything inside.

* * *

><p>Earthen-brown eyes snapped to attention. Rapacity, after his most recent dream, had expected to find himself back where he had started. In the room of his childhood, hungover and moments away from being rudely interrupted by Amaranthine... <em>Ah, Amaranthine. For this world to have lost a beauty as great as yours is a tragedy indeed. <em>Much unlike how he had awoken in his dream, Rapacity not in a bed. Nor a room. His place of rest for the night had been in the branches of a tall tree in the outskirts of a Ponyville park.

Last night did not have the results Rapacity had desired. He paid a visit to the home of Twilight Sparkle, the student of Celestia, to find it deserted. Not bothering to investigate further, knowing full-well that Chimera must have found them before he had. It would prove far more challenging to track them down now, and with three wielders out there, building up the power they would need to bring him down. Rapacity was left with two choices; To go into hiding, building his own power and waiting for the others to reveal themselves. Or alternatively, accelerate his plans.

Rapacity was not a patient pony.

* * *

><p>Two months and four re-locations later, Twilight Sparkle and Trixie stood at opposite ends of what could only be described as a battlefield, set somewhere within the Everfree forest. Steam rose off of glassed earth. Some patches of grass were set aflame, while others were drenched with large quantities of water. The two unicorns wore friendly yet competitive grins, Twilight waved her right foreleg, and beside her rose a stream of water. It remained suspended in mid air for a few second, and then, as Twilight pushed her hoof forward, it rocketed off, headed directly for Trixie.<p>

Trixie remained still as the stream of water traveled toward her at a high velocity. Moments before it could reach her, she flicked her head. A ball of flames appeared so suddenly and swept across the waters path. The fire was snuffed out and the water fell harmlessly to Trixie's hooves. She looked up to Twilight, wearing a smug smirk, only to take a face full of water from a second, smaller ball Twilight had sent out after the first stream.

_ 'As much as I am enjoying Trixie's humiliation, I think it's time for something new.' _Enchiridion interrupted the two as Trixie was preparing to launch a barrage of fireballs at Twilight. The two of them trotted across the field and took a seated position in front of the book, whom was leaned up against a tree, off to the side.

_ 'You have both come quite a long way in such a short amount of time. Twilight, you have excellent battle strategy, but your grasp on the water element could use some work. The fact that you still need to use exaggerated physical expressions while casting to help you focus, when you should be able to control it with will alone, means this may not be your strongest asset. Trixie, however, you need to pay more attention to your opponents movements. Having said that, you are a natural at fire bending. I think you should move on to a new element.' _The book gave each of them its analysis.

Trixie was, of course, very much pleased to hear of her superior abilities with fire, not really caring much for her lack of strategic sense at this point in time. She just wanted to do things better and faster.

Twilight was also quite pleased with herself. Though her skills with the water element were lacking somewhat, that she could still catch Trixie off guard when she had far more developed skills meant she didn't need them so much.

_ 'Twilight. I've been mulling it over, and I think I would like you to move on to something a bit more advanced.' _Enchiridion said. _'You've shown you have a high perception for the very unique intricacies of the second path. You can understand them better than I imagine many could. It's a gamble, but I think you should begin training in ascended universal alteration.'_

"Wait, what?" Twilight stammered. "I did poorly, so you want me to do something even harder?" She asked in disbelief.

_ 'Correct. I do not think for one moment that you will master this form. But I think you'll do well.' _Enchiridion explained.

"I... Okay. But what is it?" Twilight asked. Ascended universal alteration sounded needlessly complex.

_ 'Think back to your first exercise. Learning to look into the baser elements that made up the object before you began to use the magic within. Now imagine being able to alter those elements, much like you did when I taught you how to turn wood into stone. But on a much larger scale. You could turn the very air into whatever you see fit. It would be your main line of offense and defense, so to speak...' _The book paused for a moment. _'I also think it may be the only way you could possible match up to Rapacity.' _It finished.

"So..." Twilight started. "... A master of this, would be able to do absolutely anything they see fit." It was the ultimate form of magic. She was eager to get started, but at the same time, she was fearful of what somepony could do with this power. Rapacity in particular. "Can Rapacity use it?" She asked. Fearing the answer she knew she would receive.

_ 'Though I haven't a clue what the other wielders are doing, I can guess, given how powerful Chimera said he was, and how long he has had his own book. It would be unlikely he is not a user of ascended universal alteration.'_

Emotions rose and fell often on this journey. It seemed that every time they learned something new, or gained a new power. They learned of just how much more powerful their enemy must be. "The three of us. Me, Trixie and Chimera. We won't stand a chance against him, will we?" Twilight mumbled. The air felt cold and bleak to the purple mare.

_ 'It's hard to know. But Chimera did seem quite rattled.'_

Trixie, once again left out of a serious conversation, boiled over. "Well then, we'll just have to get creative! You hurry up and get started with that alteration business. As for myself, I am going to learn to control all of the elements flawlessly!"

_ 'The master of the elements, and the queen of the universe.' _Enchiridion chuckled. _'Well, Trixie. If you can pull that off, you might just prove a worthy adversary for Rapacity after all.'_

The book's tone was borderline sarcastic, but still held some honesty to it. It wasn't much, but spirits lifted. A barely noticeable aura of confidence once again emanated from the trio. It was slight, but it was there none the less. Though they were dragged into a world they never knew, into a fight that by rights should not be theirs. The two unicorns could feel the weight of the world on their shoulders, slowly being relieved.

* * *

><p>Just a quick note for my fanfiction readers. My story is also right here .netstory/5251/A-Second-Path on fimfiction. And honestly, it looks so much better there. Fanfiction tends to ruin my pretty formatting.  
>That, and it's far easier for me to edit and fix mistakes on fimfiction.<p> 


	10. Chapter 9

_What do you see when you close your eyes? What do you hear?  
>I see an upheaval. A fresh mind, a vast power assuming control.<em>

_I hear the old putting up a valiant, though ultimately futile fight._

_A world left scarred... And shattered._

_Only to be healed and reunited under this new power._

_So, my dear, what I see is progress. The aftermath of an oncoming storm._

_What comes of the destruction, is change, and when the world rebuilds, it will be stronger for it._

_What I hear, is praise. Not at first, mind you. For a while, this new power will be seen as evil, sent to undo what everyone believes to be ultimate good._

_In time, that changes._

_That is what I see when I close my eyes. That is what I hear._

_What about yourself?_

**Chapter 9: For what purpose.**

Abandoned buildings aren't all that common in Equestria. If a space isn't being used, the eco friendly earth ponies knock the place down and recycle the materials. This was a habit formed long before the union of the three races, when the earth ponies couldn't afford to be wasteful with their resources.

With this in mind, it was a stroke of good fortune for Arc and Chimera to have come across a long since lived in barn, that was still structurally sound, and a good deal out of the way of any densely populated areas. Very handy when one is in hiding.

Once settled in, Chimera decided she should give her owed explanation, after snatching Arc away so suddenly. Before she had a chance to begin, however, Arc had already gone off on his own inspection of the barn. "This is exactly the kind of thing I need for when I'm off the stage! Big, open and out of the way. Absolutely perfect!" he pressed his face and ear up to the wall and rapped it firmly three times with his right forehoof.

Chimera looked on in a confused silence, watching a blue blur rush about, examining every inch of the structure. It wasn't until after Arc had mentioned having his team bring all of his equipment in that Chimera decided to finally speak up. "What? No. Just- Come back here and sit still for a few moments so I can tell you why you're here!" her obvious irritation caught the colt's attention, bringing him to a halt a meter to her front.

"Right, sorry, go ahead." Arc grinned sheepishly and sat at attention.

Chimera responded with the roll of her eyes. "Good. Now stay there." a faint chiming sound that accompanied the use of magic sounded and the large book Arc recalled being shown before, lifted from Chimera's saddle bag, shrouded in golden magic. "You've met Index. Essentially, this book is the reason I need your help."

"Right, right. Index. The book that talks. Hello again!" Arc waved his hoof in the book's general direction. "I take it this talking book has something special written in its pages?"

"Actually, yes. Quite special. It's a book of magic." Chimera flipped it open to a random page, an in depth analysis on how pegasi are able to walk on clouds, and how a wielder can mimic these conditions with ease.

"Not just any type of magic. There's a reason you had to take me, of all the unicorns in Canterlot. Right?" Arc's usual grin sat comfortably on his face.

The unexpectedly informed replies Chimera was receiving from the eccentric blue unicorn before her was surprising, to say the least. "Um... Yes, exactly. You're smarter than you look."

"Really? Cheers. Out of curiosity, how smart do I look?" His expression never changed, save for his eyes. The eyebrows bent into a look of intrigue.

"...The magic this book teaches can only be used by unicorns that are born with the right... stuff." Not exactly an informative explanation, but Chimera figures it serves its purpose. "You're the fifth I've brought the book to. The only one to hear it."

"So..." Arc scratched the back of his neck and flipped absentmindedly through the pages. "Only the unicorns that can use the book, can hear it?"

"That's the gist of it. Though, this was kinda a special situation." Chimera flipped the pages to the very last, with the list of every wielder to have ever owned a book. "See how I already have a name next to mine? In order to first activate the book, you need to have a partner. Solius was... He was my partner. We found Index in an antique store. The shop-keep sold it to us for 30 bits, thinking it was just a really old and ornate diary, because before we activated it, the entire book was empty. Only the first page had anything written on it, and it was written in french. They were instructions on how to perform a spell of unlocking, that required two 'chosen' unicorns. You following all this?"

Arc nodded once and gestured for Chimera to continue.

"These books... They have personalities. Index, for example, craves companionship. It drew both Solius and I to that store, we met, discussed the voices we were both hearing and in turn, we activated the book and began learning what it had to teach. Here's the thing, once two wielders have claimed their book, only they can hear it from then on. There's a reason why you're able to hear it, I'll get to that shortly." She slid her hoof down and tapped it twice on the names of Twilight and Trixie. "These two only very recently found their book. Decent pair. Not sure what they are to one another, if I had to guess, they were sisters. The way they bicker when I drop in to watch them from time to time." Her hoof slid back up and over to another set of names. She tapped the one that was not crossed out and frowned. "This is Rapacity. I've no idea how long he's had his book, but he's had it long enough to build up some serious power... He's the one responsible for Solius's death. He's the reason I need your help."

A few short seconds of silence fell over the room, interrupted by Arc's soft chuckling. "So, you wish to pull me into a battle I know nothing about, to avenge the death of your old partner? Okay. Why, though? You've got those other two to help, don't you?"

"I know it's not yo- Okay? You'll do it? Just like that?" Chimera looked dumbfounded.

"Well, not exactly 'Just like that'." Arc gently nudged her hoof off of the page and flipped it back over to a section he had been reading prior. "'Controlling the elements: Electricity.'" He read the title of the chapter aloud and grinned. "I'm intrigued. And I figure it might be worth sticking around to help you out! So. You were going to explain why I can hear the book, now?"

"I uh... Wow, thanks, I think..." Unable to figure out what expression she should be wearing for Arc, Chimera settled for a friendly, albeit slightly confused smile. "The reason these books require a pair to be activated, is because wielders work best in a team. That isn't to say you can't learn from the book, but there's something about having two of us that accelerates our development. Though the explanation for this is probably deeply rooted within the magic of the second path, I like to think that having a little friendly competition is beneficial." She chuckled softly and shrugged. "As I've already said, once the pair activates the book, only they can hear it. But in the event that one of the two passes on, a replacement can be found. Not easily, mind you. Index was able to call for us, back before we found it. He wasn't able to do that with you, so I had to do this all manually. Figured I would start with unicorns that were known for their magical prowess." As she said this, she gestured to him. "Fifth time's the charm."

"Then, I'm special, eh?" Arc laughed heartily and rubbed his fore-hooves together.

Chimera rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, you're special, alright. Now, if you'll be so kind as to sign yourself into the book with a little pulse of magic, we can get this show on the road."

–

I know, I know. Short chapter. But I really needed to get this little bit of story development out there. Now that I have, I can move on to a little more action.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Something more.**

Canterlot inn. A bustling bed and breakfast attached to what most would consider the 'best darn bar in Equestria.' A well respected establishment where the food was fresh and delectable. The drink, doubly so. Over the years, the bar had never rid itself of its 'old timey saloon' them, with its hardwood floors, circular tables and stools, swinging double doors and even a self-performing grand piano with the same western inspired tune looping over. Though no one seemed to care much at all about the repetitiveness, as they were far too engrossed in what was going on between two colts, seated at what had long since been designated the 'challenger' table.

Two unicorns were engaged in a battle of the drink. Empty bottles of whiskey scattered the floor below, whilst the two took it in turns to drink from the lines of shot glasses set in front of them, some filled, some empty and some broken after being forcefully slammed down on the table. It had been going on for nearly half and hour now, and both were showing heavy signs of fatigue and inebriation, though neither looked ready to back down. First to drop where he stood would be the loser.

Surrounding the duo, the crowd roared in support. Seemingly one sided, though it were. Apparently between the two, one being of a navy blue, the other, burgundy brown. The brown unicorn was the favorite. Bits were practically soaring across the room as bets were placed on not only the outcome, but how many they estimate it will take before the blue colt hit the deck. Another four minutes of cheering and the clatter of glass on glass and wood went by, until inevitably, and as predicted, blue hit the hardwood in what could only be described as a drunken coma.

The establishment erupted in one unified cheer as the emerald green coated, grey maned, teal eyed earth pony mare barmaid and owner forced her way through the crowd to give the victor his prize, a signed coupon good for another month of free service. "You know, Rapacity. If you keep this up, I may just have to bar you from competing any more."

Rapacity's deep set, earthen brown eyes swiveled to meet hers and only the friendliest and most well intended grin swept across his features. "Tia, you know as well as I do, that I bring in more customers than anything else." he snickered cheekily as he took the coupon from her and tucked it away inside his saddle bag. "Not to mention how difficult it would be for you to force yourself to break such unfortunate news to me. It would break your heart."

"Yeah, you're such a stud, it would be a real shame." Tia's reply was quite sarcastic, but her smile was genuine. It would only take witnessing this single exchange to know that these two were friends. "So, haven't seen you in a while. How have your adventures been going? Did you find what it was you were looking for?"

Rapacity's head shook. "Unfortunately it escaped my grasp. Any and all information about its whereabouts was lost on the locals. Disappeared without a trace. No matter, there will always be other chances." he fiddled with an empty shot glass. Clearly uneasy about something, but the barmaid knew enough not to bother asking.

Three years, Rapacity had been coming here. For the first, Tia had often questioned him on where he had come from, where he would go whenever he wasn't drinking himself or others under the table, or what he did as a profession, to afford to keep himself above water, so to speak. Rapacity would never give her a strait answer, if any answer at all. So, she stopped asking. Other than that, they got along quite well. She was quite fond of him, in fact. Six months ago she had come close to expressing her interest, but decided against it. It was apparent he still had another mare on his mind.

"Hey, Rapacity. Big holiday, tomorrow. Celestia's birthday. You doing anything?" He was obviously quite troubled about something, maybe Tia could help him relax. The bar would be closed for the day, meaning they could share a quiet lunch. She pulled up a bar stool and took a seat next to him.

Rapacity's eyes rolled slightly, he flicked over the shot glass he was toying with. "I've never been one for the holidays, so no." This was partially true. He certainly wasn't one for the holidays dedicated to the regal sisters.

"In that case, I'll see you here tomorrow. Lunch time. My treat." Tia smirked and nudged his shoulder once before pulling herself from the stool and returning to the bar.

"But it's Celestia's _birthday_!"

_'Terrible, terrible idea, Twilight. Rapacity would expect you to want to visit Celestia. He'll be waiting for you.'_

When the date of Princess Celestia's birthday had rolled around, Twilight felt she was obligated to pay her majesty a visit. Having been living off of the radars of those she cared about for almost a year, this could have been Twilight's chance to let everyone know she was still alive and well. Enchiridion had other ideas, and now Twilight impatiently paced circles around the book, set atop a small coffee table positioned in the middle of the hotel room they had decided to rent for the night.

"I won't stay long! I just... I need to see a friendly face. I promise I won't clue her in on what I've been doing. I can just pop in and out with my teleportation." Twilight pleaded her case. Emphasis on 'plead'.

_'And then what? She'll ask questions. She may stop you from leaving.' _Enchiridion stood his ground firmly. So to speak.

"You and I both know she couldn't. If she asks anything, I'll tell her enough to understand that it's important I continue doing what I'm doing... Whatever it is we _are _doing..." Twilight's brow furrowed.

They were training to prevent what they were _told _to be an ultimate evil from overthrowing the throne and taking over the world. Given no choice but to run when Chimera had shown up, bearing the bad news. Their names were in the books now. Rapacity would come for them. This was a sound enough explanation for why they were doing what they were. But Twilight still felt they were missing something.

_'It's still a really bad idea. One I cannot condone.' _Enchiridion replied.

"I'm going." Twilight insisted.

_'Twilight, I'm a book. I couldn't stop you. I couldn't even try unless you left with the intention of never returning, in which case I could do to you what I did to Trixie when she tried to leave.' _Enchiridion sent a soft chuckle through Twilight's mind. _'But I must make myself clear on where I stand. The idea is bad, and it could end disastrously. So if you must go, don't stay long. Don't tell Celestia where you've been or where your going. But most importantly, don't tell her what you've been doing. If she were to ever find out about Rapacity, and decide to take action, there is no telling how he would react. It could destroy everything we've worked for.'_

"I've got it, you don't have to worry." Twilight gave Enchiridion a confident smile and without warning nor sound, blinked out of existence.

_'...Trixie, come here for a moment.' _Enchiridion called for the other mare.

Trixie trot through the doorway separating the living room from the kitchen, a tomato and lettuce sandwich suspended alongside her. "Yes, what is it? Can't a mare get something to eat around here without interruption?"

_'Twilight has gone to visit her old mentor. I need to to keep an eye on her.'_

Trixie smirked. "Don't trust her?"

_'That's not it. It's Celestia I'm worried about.' _Enchiridion told her. _'The second path is powerful, but not infallible. If Celestia wished, she could very well prevent Twilight from leaving. I need you to make sure she is able to come back.'_

Trixie took a bite from her sandwich and came closer. "How could she stop Twilight?"

_'I can think of only one possible way.'_

"Arc! Hey, Arc! Cut that out for a few moments, we have somewhere to be!" Chimera screamed over the incredibly loud electrical buzz resonating from Arc's Tesla coils.

The noise died down and a frizzy maned blue colt emerged from the room the coils were being kept with an apologetic grin. "Hehe, sorry. I'm having fun with this!" There was no doubt that Arc was a quick learner. Especially when it came to manipulating the electrical element. In the short time he had been studying, he had blasted through the initial lessons. Chimera had suspected this had less to do with him being especially proficient with the second path, and more to do with his eagerness to get on with his own element. He could now harness and alter the very air around himself to create lightning from seemingly nothing. Ever since he had reached this level, however. His progression had slowed down.

Chimera shook off the static that emanated from his coat and took a small step backwards. "Yeah, I can see that. We gotta go to Canterlot castle. I can tell Twilight won't be able to resist catching up with Celestia on her birthday. Rapacity would reach the same conclusion, I would wager."

"Wait, wait, didn't you say we wouldn't stand a chance against the Rapacity fella?" Arc smoothed his mane down and awaited her reply.

"We don't have to fight. We just gotta make sure she gets in and out without any trouble. If luck holds, she'll be in and out before Rapacity even has a chance." Chimera slid Index into her saddlebag and slung it over her shoulders.

Arc shivered slightly and pouted. "You know I haven't quite gotten the hang of teleportation yet."

"You'll be fine. You can just fix in on me. One of the perks of being a part of a bonded pair, we can always find one another." Arc started replying with his being uncomfortable with the term 'bonded pair', but before he could finish, she was gone. Arc wasn't far behind.

Another short-ish chapter. But I'm trying my best to get as many as I can out while I've still got this motivation. So another chapter will likely be in the works as soon as I've posted this.

Also, comments help. As much as I don't like asking, I am in need of motivation these days, and just knowing there are people out there that enjoy my story is enough to drive me.


	12. I'm back I hope

It's been a while since I've had the chance to do nothing but sit and write. And over the next few days, that's all I have, time. I'm moving house again, so most of the other things I do are pushed to the side, or are otherwise inaccessible until I am back with my usual setup. Thankfully I don't need anything other than my laptop to write.

I'm going to try and fix up the first chapter of my A Second Path rewrite. It's been semi-done for a while now, but I've been keeping it to myself because I want it to be a perfect introductory chapter, something that will hook potential readers.

And I may even put up a chapter of Fey if I feel that is ready as well.

Basically, I may be back very soon.

Jack Jackington (Formerly Comet)


	13. The rewrite

Just an update for the readers of ASP, I've published the rewrite here: s/8457298/1/A_Second_Path

I'll be deleting this story in a few days.

- Jack


End file.
